Sunday, March 22, 2009

Ass-Backwards Headline of the Day

In Village, Palestinians Face Gas With Rocks



Good old New York Times.

Just in case you don't know, the Arabs first throw the stones.

In fact, the story states so:

Camouflaged among the olive trees and the cactus bushes were khaki-clad members of the Israeli security forces armed with guns and ample supplies of tear gas, the canisters stored in large metal drums.

They were waiting for the village youths to arrive, masked and hurling rocks from slingshots. The weekly ritual, a dance with danger, and sometimes death, was about to begin.


It should have been something like: Pelted With Rocks, Police Respond With Gas.

And read this section carefully:

Palestinian activists in the village and their foreign supporters say the Israeli forces routinely act with brutality. “This is a strong army attacking mostly young boys,” said Niklas Berg, a Swedish activist who is making a documentary in Nilin. “Most of the time, people get shot while they are demonstrating peacefully.”

Israeli security officials responsible for the Nilin area strongly reject that claim. “They throw stones, iron bars, fireworks, tear gas of their own,” said Superintendent Sharon Manor, the Border Police company commander in the area. “Our aim is to keep them away from the fence.”...International Solidarity Movement activists describe the rocks thrown by the protesters as “symbolic,” asserting that they generally do not reach the soldiers anyway.

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