In an editorial, “The Guardian view on the human, economic and political costs of the Gaza war,” the newspaper questions the veracity of Israel’s account of events leading to the deaths of two Palestinians responsible for the kidnapping and murder of the three Israeli teens earlier in the summer:
In the ensuing gun battle, the two men in the house were killed. Just deserts, some might say, if we assume the two were the guilty parties, and that the police had no alternative but to shoot back when they came under fire.
The editorial continues:
The full background to the crime may never be known, since the alleged perpetrators are now gone. But the evidence strongly suggests that the Israeli government’s claim that it had “unequivocal proof” that Hamas as an organisation was responsible was unjustified.
Exactly what evidence does The Guardian possess that exonerates Hamas from responsibility for the murders of the three Israeli teens? None is offered. The Guardian then outlines its own interpretation of the course of events making sure to place the onus of responsibility for the conflict not on Hamas but on Benjamin Netanyahu’s government:
Having decided that Hamas was to blame, Binyamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, seems to have seen an opportunity to destabilise the just-created Palestinian national unity government, which had brought together Hamas and Fatah, and to undermine Mahmoud Abbas, the president of the Palestinian Authority. The Israelis charged through the West Bank picking up hundreds of Hamas members. Provoked, and sensing an opportunity to reverse its own faltering fortunes, Hamas in Gaza responded with rockets. Angered, the Israeli public, unaware of the full facts, clamoured for action over the rockets and newly discovered tunnels. Cornered, Mr Netanyahu sent in the troops.
So in The Guardian’s eyes, Operation Protective Edge was not about defending Israelis from Hamas rockets but simply a cynical political maneuver on the part of Israel. No surprise then that The Guardian, as usual, chooses to blame Israel ahead of the terrorists.
