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LA Times: Palestinians Fire First, Israel Breaks Ceasefire

This LA Times headline is a sneak preview of more misleading reporting of Palestinian terrorism: Israeli forces attack Gaza in new round of cross-border violence The headline deliberately portrays Israel as an aggressor while a “new…

Simon Plosker
January 19, 2014
12:00 am

Reading time: < 1 minutes

This LA Times headline is a sneak preview of more misleading reporting of Palestinian terrorism:

Israeli forces attack Gaza in new round of cross-border violence

The headline deliberately portrays Israel as an aggressor while a “new round of cross-border violence” is the equivalent of the “cycle of violence” where Palestinian terrorism and Israeli responses are treated as morally equivalent.

Unfortunately the LA Times is no stranger when it comes to this mentality.

But just to make sure you know who the aggressor is (emphasis added):

A cease-fire brokered between Hamas and Israel in late 2012 brought a period of relative quiet to the Gaza Strip. That was shattered last month, when Israeli military forces launched a series of attacks after suspected Palestinian sniper fire killed an Israeli civilian doing repair work on the border fence.

So let’s get this straight – Palestinians carry out acts of terror but Israel is the one that breaks a ceasefire by responding.

Or, “It all started when Israel fired back…”

Send your considered comments to the LA Times – [email protected] – remembering to include your full contact details if you wish to be published.

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Tags: cycle of violence, false conclusions, Los Angeles Times

Simon Plosker

With over two decades of experience in various non-governmental organizations in the UK and Israel, Simon Plosker returned to HonestReporting in October 2022 as Editorial Director having previously been part of the organization’s management team from 2005 to 2020. Prior to his first spell at HonestReporting, Simon worked in Israel for NGO Monitor, BICOM, and served for a short period in the IDF Spokesperson’s Unit. He was Managing Editor of the Geneva-based NGO United Nations Watch for two years before moving back to the frontline defending Israel from media bias. Simon has a BSoc.Sc in International Studies and Political Science from the University of Birmingham and an MSc in History of International Relations from the London School of Economics. He immigrated to Israel in 2001 from London.

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