The wire services are doing their best to bury the fact that a two-year-old and a four-year-old child were killed by Hamas and Fatah over the past two days. You have to search long and hard to find any notice of it.
For instance, the AP buried it in the last paragraph—which almost always gets cut—in this story about Belgium recognizing the “unity” government. Seriously. That last paragraph reads:
Palestinian infighting persisted. A 4-year-old boy caught in the crossfire of a shootout between Fatah and Hamas forces died of his wounds Friday, while a pro-Fatah security man was abducted and killed, Palestinian security officials said.
Two toddlers in two days, as well as another “militant.” I challenge you to imagine the reaction if the IDF had killed two children in two separate attacks in two days. In fact, I’m surprised the terrorists haven’t tried to pin this one on the Israelis.
Funny how this story would have gotten so much more attention if only the names of the people doing the shooting had been changed.
A 4-year-old boy caught in the crossfire of a shootout between Fatah and Hamas forces died of his wounds yesterday, while a pro-Fatah security man was abducted and killed, Palestinian security officials said, raising tensions between the sides just days after the formation of their unity government.
Hassan Abu Nada, 4, was wounded during a gunfight Thursday in the northern Gaza town of Beit Lahiya. Relatives said the boy died from his wounds early Friday.
The boy’s father cradled the small body of the boy, wrapped in a green shroud, as he led hundreds of people in a funeral procession. Palestinian security officials said the family had not been targeted by the Hamas gunmen, but lived in the same building as a wanted Fatah militant commander.
More than 140 people have been killed in factional violence in the Gaza Strip since last May in the wake of Hamas’ election victory over Fatah. The two sides finalized a power-sharing deal last Saturday aimed in large part at ending the infighting.
Let’s take a look at an old AP story by the same author, shall we?
Palestinian Deaths in Gaza Raid Rises
No ambiguous headline there. Death toll rising, and we know who killed them. Note that they don’t “die” in the crossfire. They are killed.
One of the Palestinians killed in the clashes in the town of Beit Hanoun was a 70-year-old civilian, Palestinian hospital officials said. The other two were militants in their 20s, relatives and officials said.
Their deaths raised to 11 the number of Palestinians killed since the operation began on Wednesday. At least nine were militants.
What a difference the person on the end of the trigger makes, eh? But no. There’s no anti-Israel bias in the media. Not at all.
caught in the crossfire
That is never used when Israel is involved in a shootout. Much like the terrorist/militant issue.
Actually, they are both the same kid (same name – different reporting on ages.)
I’ve been keeping track – we’re up to 153 dead Palestinian Arabs this year from their own hands.