I take it back. I’m not too tired to post, not after I saw this headline:
Israel strikes Gaza day after truce expires
Look at the cause-and-effect of the lead.
An Israeli airstrike against a Palestinian rocket squad killed a militant Saturday, the first death in Gaza since Hamas formally declared an end to a six-month truce.
Palestinians fired 10 rockets and at least 23 mortar shells from Gaza into Israel, causing some property damage but no casualties, the Israeli military said. An Israeli airstrike at one of the rocket squads in northern Gaza killed a militant, said the army and Palestinian medics.
The Al Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades, the armed wing of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas’ Fatah movement, identified the dead man as one of its fighters. Hamas, which controls Gaza, said it was behind the mortar fire.
If all you read is the first three paragraphs—and that is what most people read—you think that Israel struck first, then the Palestinians fired back. In reality, rockets have been raining down on Israel nearly every day this month. Here’s what happened this morning in Israel:
Residents of Israel’s Gaza-vicinity communities awoke to the sound of rockets landing near their homes on Saturday morning. At least 11 Qassam rockets and 16 mortars were fired by Palestinian groups towards the western Negev throughout the day.
The first four rockets were fired at around 8:50 am, while many local residents were attending synagogue. Deputy security officer for the Eshkol Council, Nicky Levi, told Ynet that the Color Red rocket alert system sounded throughout several communities in the morning hours.
Two of the rockets landed in open areas in the Eshkol Regional Council, one landed in the Shaar Hanegev Regional Council and the fourth landed just north of Gaza.
A short while after the rockets landed the IDF struck in Beit Lahiya, killing one. Palestinian sources named the man killed as Ali Hijazi, and said he belonged to the Eiman Judeh squads, which are part of the Al Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades – the military wing of Fatah.
Nowhere—NOWHERE in the AP article is it indicated that the rockets were fired into Israel, and then Israel responded to her civilians being bombarded by firing on the terrorists launching the rockets.
Effing AP. I really cannot stand them. The only reason I give myself high blood pressure by reading them is that someone has to keep on telling the Israeli side of the story.
Right on! I actually found your website on CNN’s blog roll under their article about the ceasefire working well for 4 months until the rocket fire escalated. so I think they actually missed the point of a ceasefire, which to most people means that you cease fire and there are no rockets, not just a few. The show of peace is a comedy of errors but unfortunately unlike a play the jokes (joke government, joke media, etc.) effect real people.