Posted on 01/07/2004 12:10:34 PM PST by American in Israel
| COMMUNIQUE: 7 January 2004 |  |
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Media outlets regularly charge the IDF with brute over-reaction to Palestinian stone-throwers, described as mere "protestors" who pose no serious danger.
The latest episode took place on Saturday (Jan. 3), when three Palestinians were killed during a clash in Nablus. Among them was 15-year-old Amjad al-Masri, who had engaged soldiers from a rooftop. Reuters reported a discrepancy between Palestinian witnesses who claimed al-Masri was merely "throwing stones" from above, and the IDF spokesman, who said he was "dropping large bricks on soldiers."
Here's an actual scene of stone-throwing "protest" in Nablus, captured by an Associated Press photographer on Jan.2 :
Those are cement building blocks, and from a few stories up they are deadly weapons by anyone's standards. "Protestors" carry placards; they don't hurl cinder blocks. Western courts have convicted those who threw boulders onto roadways of first-degree murder.
The above photo certainly supports the IDF's version of al-Masri's death. Yet in a classic case of selective omission, two news agencies ran stories on the event that completely ignored the IDF's actual version (emphases added):
- Australian Broadcasting Corporation: "Israeli soldiers have shot dead three Palestinians, including a 15-year-old boy, who were throwing stones in protests around the West Bank city of Nablus early on Saturday local time, Palestinian medics and witnesses said."
- Associated Press: "On Saturday, troops opened fire at a large number of Palestinians throwing stones, an army spokesman said."
These news outlets adopt the Palestinian version as if it were established fact. Readers, unaware of the flagrant selective omission, are led to the false belief that trigger-happy Israeli troops open fire against non-threatening Palestinian "protestors."
Comments to Australian Broadcasting Corporation: newseditor@your.abc.net.au
Comments to Associated Press:
Thank you for your ongoing involvement in the battle against media bias.
HonestReporting.com
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