Last week, terrorists launched a rocket into Israel, the first one since Gilad Shalit was released. It fell in an unpopulated area, but the IDF struck back when it saw an Islamic Jihad cell getting ready to fire more rockets. And the IDF scored, big-time. Five terrorists, including a senior PIJ bomb maker, were killed. So the terrorists sent more rockets into Israel. There’s even a video of the rockets being launched from the back of a pick-up truck. So the IDF killed more terrorists.
And oh yeah–an Israeli man died of wounds sustained in today’s rocket attack in Ashkelon.
So when does the AP get involved? Today. After the terrorists have been killed. Now, suddenly, it’s a “back-and-forth” issue. The rocket last week? Who cares, no one got hurt, right? The fact that it was heading for civilians for no reason? Doesn’t matter. So the AP stuck that information in the next-to-last paragraph, perfect for being cut by the editor of your local paper. All that matters now is that Israel and the Palestinians are “exchanging fire.” Because killing terrorists who are trying to murder civilians is just like sending rockets to deliberately murder civilians.
Israel and Gaza militants exchange fire, 10 killed
Israeli aircraft struck at Palestinian militants in Gaza on Saturday who responded with a volley of rockets which rained on southern Israeli towns, Israeli and Palestinian officials said. Palestinian officials said nine militants were killed, while on the Israeli side one civilian was killed and four others were wounded.
Exchanges of fire are common between southern Israel and the Gaza strip controlled by the militant Hamas group, but this is the worst in months.
I suppose we should be happy that they aren’t pushing the “innocent farmer” line, but even the Palestinian spokesliars can’t pull that off when there’s video of a truck launching multiple rockets from Gaza.
Which is not as bad as the BBC headline for the AP article.
Israeli killed in retaliatory rocket attack from Gaza
Right. It’s all about retaliation, not about protecting Israeli civilians from being murdered in their homes.
At least Reuters is identifying the terrorists in the headline, unlike the AP, in which you just read that there were “10 killed”. The best headline I’ve found so far is in the WaPo, on the AP piece:
Israeli airstrikes kill 9 militants in Gaza, Palestinian rockets kill 1 Israeli, wound 4
Of course, it’s still all about the Israeli airstrikes, not the defense set off by the PIJ rocket attacks.
CNN gets the worst headline award:
Officials: 10 killed in Gaza, Israel in back-and-forth violence
Right. It’s just that old cycle of violence, tit-for-tat, back and forth. And watch CNN get the facts dead wrong:
At least 10 people are dead in Gaza and southern Israel, in a wave of back-and-forth attacks between the Israeli military and Palestinian militants, according to medical and military officials.
The violence began when two Islamic Jihad commanders were among seven militants killed Saturday by Israeli strikes targeting a training camp in Rafah, Gaza, a spokesman for the militant group and medical sources reported.
No, the violence began on Wednesday, with the Grad rocket landing in Ashkelon. The longer CNN story still does not have that fact, but it does have a picture of a grieving Palestinian man crying over one of the dead terrorists. A PIJ training camp was hit. Good shot, IDF! May you have many more of them in the future.
And the overarching question: Where was Iron Dome? Apparently, being serviced. Damn it.
Take a look at the picture at this link to see the damage the Grad rockets can do. Unfortunately, a lot of missiles and rockets went missing from Libya. Thanks a lot, Obama, for making sure that terrorists have yet another source of weapons to rain down on Israelis.
Israel is cancelling classes tomorrow for schools that are within range of the rockets from Gaza. Think we’re going to hear from the UN about Israeli children’s rights being violated?
Of course not. But we will hear from the UN Human Rights Commission about Gaza children any minute now.
Antisemites are always kvetching about the nonexistent Jewish control of the media. Maybe it’s time to give them a real scare. Maybe Israel and Diaspora Jews could set up their own news service, to disseminate Israel’s and the Jewish point of view. They could get media to use it by dramatically undercutting AP’s or Reuters’ charges for their services. Maybe Israel could use some of that oil and gas money that is expected soon to do this. Better Hasbara needed, dontcherknow.