Look at these two articles from the AP on the most recent terrorist attack in Israel:
Israeli military says 2 Israelis dead in shooting
A Palestinian militant shot and killed two Israeli security guards early Friday in a factory on the border between Israel and the West Bank, the Israeli military said.Medics pronounced the two middle-aged guards dead at the scene, rescue services said, and troops began combing surrounding areas for traces of the assailant.
No Palestinian militant group immediately claimed responsibility.
Palestinian security officials in the nearby town of Tulkarem said soldiers moved into the West Bank in force and set up a checkpoint. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the press.
And this one:
Israeli military says Palestinian militant kills 2 Israelis
A Palestinian militant shot and killed two Israeli security guards early Friday at a factory along the divide between Israel and the West Bank, the military said. The attack highlights the enormous challenge faced by moderate Palestinians to keep extremists in check.Meanwhile, Israel rejected a proposal from Hamas, the militant rulers of the Gaza Strip, for a cease-fire in the territory.
Medics pronounced the two middle-aged guards dead at the scene, rescue services said, and troops began combing surrounding areas for traces of the assailant. One body remained on the ground outside the factory, covered in a gray blanket, and police concealed the second body with a white sheet.
No Palestinian militant group immediately claimed responsibility.
Funny how when it’s Palestinians killed by the IDF—even when it’s just your run-of-the-mill terrorists—the AP headline is always, “IDF kills 2 Palestinians” or “Israel kills Palestinians”. No fudging around with “Palestinians say 2 dead in shooting”. The active voice is almost always used when the IDF is doing the act. The passive voice is usually used when it is Palestinians killing Israelis.
And note how the AP quotes “the Israeli army,” as usual, without naming a spokesperson. On the Palestinian side, it always seems to be “Palestinian medics” or “witnesses,” and the victims of the attacks are always named, aged, and given marital status, family life, and quotes from the relatives, along with pictures of screaming women over bodies.
The time of the latest AP update is 06:19 ET. That’s 15:19 Israeli time. At 13:04 Israeli time, Ynet had these facts:
Two Israeli guards were killed Friday morning in a shooting attack in an industrial zone near Nitzanei Oz in the Sharon region. The two were in charge of checking Palestinians arriving from the West Bank. The two were identified as Shimon Mizrahi, 53, of Bat Hefer and Eli Wasserman, 51, of Alfei Menashe
The Al-Quds Brigades, the Islamic Jihad’s military wing, and the Izz al-Din al-Qassam, Hamas’ military wing, claimed shared responsibility for the shooting attack.
The Ynet article—which was published before the second AP update—has the facts on who claimed responsibility for the attack. Ynet has quotes and pictures of one of the widows and family members. Funny how the AP can’t manage to find these people when Israelis are killed, but the Israeli press can. But then, portraying Israelis in a human and sympathetic light doesn’t really fit the narrative, does it? Portraying terrorists as cold-blooded murderers doesn’t fit the narrative, either.
And the perpetrator of the attack? He’s a terrorist that “escaped” from a Palestinian prison a few days ago. If it’s the one I’m thinking of, several prisoners simply walked out. It’s the Palestinian system of keeping terrorists from hurting Israelis. If they’re pressured, they do. If they’re not, well, they can’t control “militants.” Just look at the lede in the second AP article.
There’s another disturbing section of the Ynet article:
Sources in the IDF raised questions over the developments of events, claiming that the incident could have ended differently.
“There were three guards facing one terrorist at the terminal. It shouldn’t have ended this way,” a security official told Ynet.
An initial military investigation revealed that one of the killed guards forgot his weapon in the car and was standing at the terminal unarmed, while a third guard fled the area upon hearing the gunshots.
Most of my readers probably don’t know this, but your typical Israeli security guard isn’t far different from your typical American security guard, with the risk factor raised exponentially. It’s a low-paying, unskilled job. And if the company that hires the guards skimps on the training, the result is successful terrorist infiltrations. I’m thinking the company skimped on the training. This is an industrial zone that uses Palestinian workers. The guards should have been better trained and better able to prevent this attack.
Brigadier-General Noam Tibon, commander of the Judea and Samaria Division, said that “between 6 am and 7 am, laborers entered the industrial zone. According to the area’s security portfolio, there should have been three armed people at the crossing to bring the laborers in.
“Most of the laborers had entered by 6:45 am, and at 7 am a lone terrorist arrived and fired at the factory from the gate, hitting his target. The terrorist did not enter the industrial zone.
“We will investigate the incident, also in order to understand how three armed people failed to fire at the terrorist, kill him or at least injure him. We plan to capture the terrorist shortly.”
I suspect they’re going to find the reason was money. Now that, the AP will probably report.
Update: The AP updated their story. They now include a picture of the widow of one of the guards. But she isn’t named, nor are the victims. The editorial comment in the lede has been replaced with comments by a PA spokesman. And the headline? Unchanged.
Israeli military says Palestinian militant kills 2 Israelis