Observations on coverage we’ve seen from Gaza so far:
* Reuters reports that a French sound engineer employed by France-3 was kidnapped on Sunday as his TV crew entered a Gaza City hotel. Mohamed Ouathi hasn’t been seen since.
* The NY Times raises an interesting question: Is the UN funding Palestinian celebrations in Gaza?
Around the corner was a banner from the Palestinian Authority, which is dominated by a more secular faction, Fatah. “Gaza today,” it read, “the West Bank and Jerusalem Tomorrow.” A tag line said the banner was paid for by the United Nations Development Program.
* AFP incorrectly implies that Palestinian commitments to fight terror are parallel with Israeli commitments regarding settlements.
The roadmap demands Palestinians bring an end to all militant attacks and Israel halts all settlement activity.
Actually, the road map requires a Palestinian crackdown on terror first.
* The SF Chronicle profiled a 15-year-old Palestinian boy in an Israeli prison after being caught with a bomb belt at a checkpoint in 2004. The kid—as well as his mother—show little remorse.
Had her son succeeded in his mission, Besma said, her feelings would have been mixed.
“Of course, yes, I would have been happy,” she said. And proud. Even though it would be very sad for me to lose my son. But I would be very proud,” she said.
* The LA Times handled a report on the fate of Jewish graves thoroughly, yet concise and respectful. This piece put a real human face on the anguish raised by issues of exhumation and reburial.
