Pots and Kettles

As part of my ongoing efforts to find out "what really happened" during, or to cause, episodes of violence in this beautiful land that is my temporary home, I search several newspapers for the same story to see what differs, and what is common.

This weekend, there were two separate incidents near the city of Nablus, in the West Bank, wherein four teenagers were killed by the Israeli army, two in each incident. These facts are not in dispute, according to my sources. What is in dispute is what caused the soldiers to kill the boys, and how exactly they were killed.

Regarding one incident, Israeli sources claim two of the boys tried to attack the soldiers, who were stationed at a checkpoint, with a pitchfork. Regarding the second incident, Arab sources called the event a peaceful demonstration while Israeli sources called it an "illegal riot." Are there legal riots? Not be a smartmouth, but seriously. Israeli sources claim that only rubber-coated bullets were fired, and that therefore their deaths were tragic accidents. Arab sources (and the Israeli human rights group B'Tselem) claim the soldiers fired live rounds, which struck the boys in the head and abdomen, respectively.

I would like to offer now a sampling of media reports on the incident, first from Israeli news, and then from Arab news (Qatar-owned Al-Jazeera and Saudi-owned Asharq Alawsat).

Yedioth Ahronoth

The most popular newspaper in Israel, literally translated: Latest News.
IDF-appointed experts to probe death of 2 Palestinians

The IDF on Monday set up a committee of experts tasked with investigating the death of two Palestinian teenagers during riots that erupted near the West Bank city of Nablus on Saturday. The Palestinians claim that Israeli soldiers used live fire, resulting in the death of two people, while the IDF contends that soldiers fired rubber-bullets, in accordance with army protocol.

The committee, consisting of military physicians and forensic experts who were appointed by the army, will be tasked with looking into the discrepancy between the two versions with the use of eyewitness accounts and evidence gathered at the scene.
The experts will also examine X-ray images of the Palestinians' bodies provided by a hospital in Nablus and the testimonies of IDF soldiers. At this point, the army said, the cause of death cannot be determined.

Mohammed Qadus (16) and Osayed Qadus (19) were killed during clashes in the West Bank village of Burin. The IDF said that during the incident dozens of Palestinians threw stones soldiers, who responded with crowd dispersal means.

Pitchfork remained on ground during purported attack

The IDF reports – according to which one of the Palestinians tried to attack the soldiers with a pitchfork or hoe – were shown to be inaccurate. The two Palestinians were indeed in possession of farming tools. However, they were reportedly left on the ground beside them. As the two were asked what they were doing in the area and asked to hand over their details, the company commander reportedly heard one of them mutter something that sounded like a prayer. According to the debriefing, he then attacked the soldier with a broken piece of glass that he allegedly picked up from the ground.

The company commander turned around and fired two or three rounds at the Palestinian. The company commander then noticed that the other Palestinian man started moving in a threatening manner with a syringe he held in his hand. The soldier then fired two more bullets.

Haaretz

The most popular left-leaning newspaper in Israeal, literally translated: The Land
PA accuses Israel of killing Palestinian teens 'in cold blood'

Palestinian government spokesman Ghassan Khatib called for an independent investigation into the killing of 19-year-old cousins Mohammed Qawariq and Saleh Qawariq on Sunday, who were shot by Israel Defense Forces troops who they attempted to stab with a pitchfork. The soldiers were not harmed in the incident.

Khatib cited witness accounts that the two had been shot only after being arrested, while Mahmoud al-Aloul, a senior figure in the Fatah party led by
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, said the youth had been killed
in "cold blood".

Oseyd Abd al-Nasser Kadus was hit in the midriff by a rubber-coated bullet and was taken to the hospital in Nablus, where he had been listed in critical condition.

Another youth, Ibrahim Abd al-Khader Kadus, 16, died Saturday after being hit in the heart by a rubber-coated bullet fired by IDF troops.

The two were wounded clash after IDF soldiers tried to prevent clashes between Israeli settlers and Palestinians near the village of Iraq Burin, south of Nablus. Villagers own land that borders the nearby settlement of Bracha.

The Palestinians maintain that the two teenagers were hit by live ammunition and that the soldiers prevented Palestinian medical staff from evacuating them. The two teenagers were subsequently rushed to the hospital in private cars.

Al Jazeera

Qatari-owned TV station and news magazine, literally translated: The Island
IOF Kills Teenager in Nablus

A teenager was killed and another gravely wounded as Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) opened Saturday afternoon fire at them in the West Bank village of Iraq Burin south of Nablus.

The IOF entered the Iraq Burin and the neighboring Burin village, following a settlers attack on the two villages. As Israeli soldiers opened fire toward citizens they gravely injured Mohamed Kadus, 16, and Aceed Jamal, but Mohamed died in hospital.

Israeli Soldiers Kill Four Palestinians in Nablus over Weekend; Abbas Condemns

This came after Israeli occupation soldiers shot and killed two Palestinians Sunday at an army check post near the northern West Bank city of Nablus. An occupation spokeswoman claimed that both men tried to stab a soldier.
"Two Palestinians were killed after attempting to stab a soldier on patrol near Awarta, southeast of Nablus. Other soldiers opened fire at the attackers, killing them," the spokeswoman told AFP.

A 19-year-old Palestinian also died on Sunday of wounds sustained one day earlier when Israeli occupation forces opened fire on demonstrators south of Nablus.
Oseyd Abd al-Nasser Kadus was hit in the midriff by a rubber-coated bullet and was taken to the hospital in Nablus, where he had been listed in critical condition.
Another youth, Ibrahim Abd al-Khader Kadus, 16, died Saturday after being hit in the heart by a rubber-coated bullet fired by occupation troops.

Palestinians maintain that the two teenagers were hit by live ammunition and that the soldiers prevented Palestinian medical staff from evacuating them. The two teenagers were subsequently rushed to the hospital in private cars.

The two martyrs were wounded when Israeli soldiers opened fire at Palestinian demonstrators who were defending their families and properties from settler gangs attacking their village.

Asharq Alawsat

Saudi-owned and printed in the UK, literally translated: The Middle East
Second Palestinian Youth Dies after shot in West Bank

Osaid al-Kaddous, 17, was fatally wounded in a confrontation between Israeli forces and Palestinian youths, who had been throwing stones, in the Palestinian village of Iraq Burin, near Nablus. Mohammed Ibrahim, 16, was killed there Saturday.

Due to be buried later Sunday, they were the first Palestinians to die in recent weeks of protests in the West Bank and East Jerusalem. Kaddous had been struck in the head by what a Palestinian medic who treated him said was a live bullet.

The Israeli army has denied live ammunition was used.

Do note that this paragraph:

The Palestinians maintain that the two teenagers were hit by live ammunition and that the soldiers prevented Palestinian medical staff from evacuating them. The two teenagers were subsequently rushed to the hospital in private cars.

was exactly the same, word for word, in the Haaretz article and the Al-Jazeera article. In my humble opinion, it seems that it is much less risky for an Israeli journalist to question and be critical of his or her government than it is for an Arab journalist. The wrath with which Al-Jazeera reports on developments in Palestine fades to a flicker when comment is made about the Qatari government, and is once again fanned when journalists criticize the rival Saudi government. But here in Israel, even mainstream publications echo the sentiments of their Arab peers and question the legitimacy of the Israeli military's official line until it is confirmed with facts.

Israel's critics accuse it of being an ethnocracy madquerading as a democracy, which is true, with Arab Israeli's rights dwindling as we speak. But one could make the argument, and indeed I intend to, that Israel's Arabs are treated more fairly than Arabs' Arabs. Were protesters not killed in Iran after Ahmedinejad was "reelected"? (And yes I know they are not Arab, don't split hairs with me). Have Egyptian journalists not been abducted, beaten, and disappeared for criticizing their leaders? Have Saudi TV producers not been fired and replaced simply for discussing the pros and cons of Western lifestyles?

I will continue this argument in my own head and possibly on the blog at a future date.

Gov't Report Reveals Corruption at Highest Levels

With Israeli elections just around the corner, we can safely assume that all major political developments are at least in part one group or another's attempt to win favor with the electorate. Operation Cast Lead was one example of political maneuvering, and quite possibly the most significant one of this election. It has seemed to achieve its goals of creating a sense of national unity, feelings of patriotism, and a strong distrust of outsiders and their criticisms. In short, the country has been put in a war mood.

This is good for Prime Minister candidate Bibi Netanyahu, who has already held the office from 1996 to 1999, as leader of the conservative Likud party. Support for the latest Gaza war and Israelis' tendency to go insular when they are threatened has made his success much more likely.

This could be the reason a secret government report revealing settlement construction to be illegal and corrupted has recently been released, even though it was completed over two years ago. What's more is that the research was done by the Israeli government and at the behest of former Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz, another right-wing candidate for Prime Minister in this election.

Ha'aretz writes:

An analysis of the data reveals that, in the vast majority of the settlements - about 75 percent - construction, sometimes on a large scale, has been carried out without the appropriate permits or contrary to the permits that were issued.

Now, let's deconstruct this in order to fully realize the significance. Building without permits is a pretty piddly violation. If building without permits was the only accusation we could make against the Israeli government, I wouldn't have anything to write about. What makes this significant is that Palestinian homes built without permits are demolished, oftentimes without warning, meaning the residents not only lose their home, but many of their possessions as well. Before the appearance of this report, government spokesmen could make all the excuses they want about these demolitions, but now, they can no longer claim Palestinians receive equal treatment in this regard.

Moving on:

The database also shows that, in more than 30 settlements, extensive construction of buildings and infrastructure (roads, schools, synagogues, yeshivas and even police stations) has been carried out on private lands belonging to Palestinian West Bank residents.

The government admits that it knowingly builds on the property of the West Bank's Palestinian residents.

The Ha'aretz article, besides a summary of the report, includes interviews with settler leaders and Housing Ministry officials. Not surprisingly, they all pass the buck higher and higher, until it becomes clear that decisions regarding the illegal building come from the very heights from which the order to compile the report was given. Nevermind why Shaul Mofaz would order a report written that could very well cost him the election, the question is: who released the report to the public, two years after its completion?

The answer, if I may speculate, comes from the left. If Operation Cast Lead hurt Tzipi Livni's chances in the election, this report does the same to her right-wing competitors. If the electorate knows their government is out looking for trouble, support of the Gaza war could wane, thus giving Livni the boost she needs at the polls.

Uuuuummmm....WHAT?

The Tel Aviv District Court today sentenced eight gang members to various prison sentences for crimes like assault, conspiracy to commit a crime, and racial incitement.

Oh yeah, and the gang was a neo-Nazi gang.

Huh?

Ha'aretz says:

The court stated that the phenomenon revealed during the investigation of the case is extremely severe, shocking and horrifying - particularly in light of the fact that the suspects were all youths and immigrants from the Commonwealth of Independent states. According to the original indictment, filed last September, the eight defendants - mostly immigrants from the former Soviet Union between the ages of 17 and 20 - perpetrated violent hate crimes against Asians, religious Jews, drug addicts and homosexuals.

So, ok. Let me see if I can just wrap my head around this. You are from countries that 60 years ago were under Nazi occupation. Countries where your grandparents were possibly killed because they were Jews. And then your parents got the good sense to get the heel out and move you to the only Jewish state in the world. Which is when you join a neo-Nazi gang.

Um...no, I still don't get it.

I Don't Know When, I Don't Know How...

I am reading a hilarious news report on Haaretz. Actually, I'm not sure it can be called news...or a report. It's more like a scary bedtime story. Basically it says that there was a mysterious explosion in Iran and nobody knows why or how. Plus, the explosion happened a week ago.

Haaretz tries to make it relevant by adding sinister insinuations, but there are no sources listed, even indirect ones, so as a thinking person I must conclude that at this time, the article is nothing more than a rumor in print.

But, for your entertainment, I will show you my favorite parts.

#1:

Western officials told the Telegraph that the Revolutionary Guards had launched an investigation into the cause mystery blast, which apparently took place on July 19.

Western officials? That is hilarious. So basically, anyone who works for any government in one half of the world.

#2:

The Guards are investigating the possibility that the explosion was the result of sabotage, the officials said. There have been a number of unexplained explosions in Iran of late, including on at a mosque in Shiraz during a military exhibition, and another at a missile site.

This could mean oh-so-many things. Is it possible that the writer is trying to insinuate that these mysterious "Western officials" have sabotaged Iranian weapons?

This is really brilliant writing. At this point, the reader believes they know something really incredible! But actually, they are dumber than before they started reading.

Seriously, it takes a word artist to do that.

#3:

Some of the weapons include long-range missiles that are being transfered through flights using Turkey's airspace, as well as overland though Turkey, under the guise of civilian cargo.

Enter the real manipulation. This is a classic example of Israeli knee-jerk reporting. Hezbollah has long-range missiles?! This is every Israeli's worst fear because it means that Israel's previously untouchable urban centers are now vulnerable targets.

But uh...does Hezbollah actually have long-range missiles? "The West" says so:

The West believes Iran has been increasing its military support of Hezbollah recently, in case of a future armed confrontation over its nuclear program.

The only question left is: who originally engineered this scare tactic?

Israel Cannabalizes Itself

Photo by dlisbona.

First of all, I would like point my middle finger directly at Reuter's. Not that I'm surprised that they would print a grossly misleading headline, but well, ok...I am. I am surprised and disgusted. The top Reuter's online story today is headlined "Israel's Olmert admits taking cash but won't quit." I think we can all agree that means he admitted to taking a bribe. However, in the article, Reuter's quotes Olmert as saying, "I look each and every one of you in the eye and say, 'I never took bribes. I never took a penny for myself.'"

The Israeli media has been riding this wave for the last two weeks but for some reason the story broke internationally yesterday. On Israel's birthday. Weird.

Amir Oren, of Israel's Haaretz newspaper, writes an analysis of the media's handling of this event and breaks it down rather effectively. He writes:

The media midwifed the affair, kept it from dying and has turned itself into the arena for the coming rounds.

Read the rest of that analysis here.