The Daily Bias (a continuing series)
I could probably fill this blog a hundred times a day with evidence of media bias on the Middle East.
Today we have an example of the growing tendency to make it seem as if disarming terrorists ("millitants") is some kind of favor that the Palestinians can perform if they are in the mood, and not a central obligation that they have under the first phase of the roadmap. The AP today described how Israel is freezing the handover of West Bank towns for a pretty damn good reason--those towns are becoming hotbeds of terrorism. Here is how the AP spun it:
"JERUSALEM - Israel will not hand over any more West Bank towns to Palestinian control because militants are not being disarmed, the Israeli Security Cabinet decided Wednesday, despite a truce pledge to transfer five towns." [emphasis added]
Israel, you will note, is "breaking a truce pledge."
The AP continues:
"The step added tension to an already shaky atmosphere surrounding the truce, though it has led to a significant reduction in the violence that plagued the area for more than four years. Rebuffing Israeli and U.S. demands, the new Palestinian Preventive Security chief said Wednesday that he would not order the disarming of militants." [emphasis added]
Not only is Israel "breaking a pledge," it is "adding tension."
Nowhere in the article does it say that the Palestinians, by not disarming "millitants," are to blame for this situation. Disarming terrorists and dismantling the terrorist infrastructure is not a simply a political position or "demand" by Israel and the U.S. It is required by the Road Map.
Now, if Dan Okrent was commenting on this, he would probably say that such lousy journalism is a product of the fact that the AP reporter here couldn't go back in time 5,000 years.
Apparently the AP has a habit of making believe that the Roadmap doesn't exist, at least when it comes to the Palestinians doing something about terrorism. Snapshots, the CAMERA blog, had a good report on that recently.
Today we have an example of the growing tendency to make it seem as if disarming terrorists ("millitants") is some kind of favor that the Palestinians can perform if they are in the mood, and not a central obligation that they have under the first phase of the roadmap. The AP today described how Israel is freezing the handover of West Bank towns for a pretty damn good reason--those towns are becoming hotbeds of terrorism. Here is how the AP spun it:
"JERUSALEM - Israel will not hand over any more West Bank towns to Palestinian control because militants are not being disarmed, the Israeli Security Cabinet decided Wednesday, despite a truce pledge to transfer five towns." [emphasis added]
Israel, you will note, is "breaking a truce pledge."
The AP continues:
"The step added tension to an already shaky atmosphere surrounding the truce, though it has led to a significant reduction in the violence that plagued the area for more than four years. Rebuffing Israeli and U.S. demands, the new Palestinian Preventive Security chief said Wednesday that he would not order the disarming of militants." [emphasis added]
Not only is Israel "breaking a pledge," it is "adding tension."
Nowhere in the article does it say that the Palestinians, by not disarming "millitants," are to blame for this situation. Disarming terrorists and dismantling the terrorist infrastructure is not a simply a political position or "demand" by Israel and the U.S. It is required by the Road Map.
Now, if Dan Okrent was commenting on this, he would probably say that such lousy journalism is a product of the fact that the AP reporter here couldn't go back in time 5,000 years.
Apparently the AP has a habit of making believe that the Roadmap doesn't exist, at least when it comes to the Palestinians doing something about terrorism. Snapshots, the CAMERA blog, had a good report on that recently.
posted by Mediacrity at 3:24 PM
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