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Self-Defense Only Legitimate if Israelis are Injured First?

It’s another headline fail, this time in The Guardian: But take a look at the sub-header. In addition to questioning the veracity of the Israeli version of events, it also stresses that the…

Simon Plosker
February 15, 2016
12:00 am

Reading time: < 1 minutes

It’s another headline fail, this time in The Guardian:

But take a look at the sub-header. In addition to questioning the veracity of the Israeli version of events, it also stresses that the Palestinians were shot dead despite no Israeli soldiers suffering any injuries.

Is this a new caveat specifically for Israeli security forces? Are Israelis allowed to defend themselves against Palestinian attackers only once they have been injured?

Obviously, the entire point of self-defense is to avoid getting hurt in the first place. For The Guardian and some other media outlets, however, Israeli self-defense is an illegitimate measure against the real victims – Palestinian assailants and terrorists.

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Tags: headline bias, Lack of context, The Guardian

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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