UPDATE: 1:05 p.m. : The Times changed the headline (hat tip: Melvyn Mildiner)
Appeal for calm after Palestinian boy murdered in ‘revenge killing’
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What’s taking the police so long to determine whether the appalling murder of Mohammed Abu Khdeir was the work of Jewish nationalists or something else? Haaretz cautions everyone to take a deep breath:
Aside from the possibility that the murder was a nationalistic hate crime carried out by an Israeli terror cell in response to the murders of the three teenagers kidnapped and murdered in the West Bank, it is possible it was carried out by Palestinians for other reasons, the police believe. The caution stems from a lack of information, but also from fear of being mistaken, during an already-sensitive time . . .
With Arab rioting in eastern Jerusalem, rockets flying from Gaza, and international scrutiny, Israel doesn’t have any room for a misstep.
It may well be that Khdeir was killed by Jews. That’s harrowing to contemplate. But until more info’s available, premature coverage only adds fuel to the fire. The Times of London‘s a case in point.
In fact, the headline isn’t supported by correspondent Josh Mitnick’s dispatch:
The killing was blamed on Jewish settlers in response to the abduction and murder of Israeli teenagers . . .
The revenge killing appeared part of a growing trend of attacks by Jewish settlers known as “price tag” raids, in which they respond to curbs by the Israeli army or attacks by Palestinians with revenge raids on Arabs.
If the paper has evidence the police doesn’t, it should disclose what it has. Otherwise, the Times of London’s irresponsible headline is adding fuel to the fire.
