Everything you need to know about weekendmedia coverage of Israel and the Mideast.
Rockets rain on Israel after IDF foils mega terror attack. Praise for Iron Dome. And ombudsman ponders the NY Times’ balance of Israel-Iran coverage.
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Israel and the Palestinians
• IDF kills terror chief planning mega-attack. You wouldn’t know from the Beeb that Zuhair al-Qaissi had another big attack in the works.
• Heh. How’s this for silencing Israel? IDF videos posted on YouTube demonstrate that the army’s killing terrorists without collateral damage, yet the BDS movement got one removed from YouTube for several hours because “it’s violent.” YouTube was sufficiently embarrassed to restore the video.
There’s a big difference between grainy thermal imagery of Palestinian rocket goons getting their just desserts and, say, Daniel Pearl getting his throat sliced.
• You think Zuhair al-Qaissi had no connection to Gilad Shalit’s kidnapping? Qaissi boasted of his role enough times for a decent Times of Israel roundup of the smack talk.
• Tit-For-TatWatch:
1. “Tit-for-tat exchanges between Israel and Palestinians have been routine since the 2009 war, but a flare-up of this intensity is rare.”
2. “The violent escalation threatened to spark a new wave of warfare along the volatile Gaza-Israel border, where a relatively low-level cycle of reciprocal attacks has become routine.”
• Daily Telegraph: Nasty Israelis interrupt another lull. Never mind Qaissi’s plans.
• Voice of America: Rocket barrages striking distant cities like Ashkelon is just a border flare up:
• The Iron Dome’s proving its mettle. Moreover, Alex Fishman points out that if not for Iron Dome, the barrage would certainly have prompted the IDF to enter Gaza by now.
Moreover, all the rockets that were supposed to land in populated areas were intercepted. This impressive military balance sheet grants the political leadership flexibility and the ability to take decisions free from domestic and international pressure. . . .
Now, Israel is presenting Hamas’ government with a leadership dilemma: In an era where Hamas wishes to portray itself as a pragmatic political party in the eyes of the world, will it have the power and desire to restrain Islamic Jihad fire that also threatens Hamas’ own hegemony in the Strip?
• What is the Popular Resistance Committee? The IDF blog lists the PRC’s dirty deeds.
• Palestinian elections scheduled for May 4 are postponed. Shocking? Naaaah.
• In the WSJ, Ambassador Michael Oren comments on the status Christians in Israel and the PA.
• What do you do when you have a dozen photos of Palestinians protesting in the West Bank but no article worth writing? Run a slide show at Time magazine.
