AP have published this rather gruesome photo with the following caption:
Palestinian medics tend to the body of an alleged Palestinian militant killed by an undercover Israeli army unit during an operation in the West Bank town of Bethlehem, Sunday, April 23, 2006. Israeli undercover soldiers killed one Palestinian militant and arrested two others, Palestinian sources said. According to Palestinian sources the undercover unit ambushed the vehicle in the center of the town. The Israeli military was yet to make comment. (AP Photo/Magnus Johansson-MaanImages)
Read it carefully and focus on the parts in red.
Notice anything?
The status of the palestinian as a “militant” (i.e. terrorist) is only “alleged”, yet those who killed him are certainly Israeli undercover soldiers – despite the fact that palestinian sources are behind this assertion, and the IDF has not confirmed it.
What makes AP’s reliance on the palestinian version of events even bolder is the current Hamas-Fatah violence, which makes it even more likely that the pictured terrorist was killed by a rival terrorist group, and the palestinians are attributing the death to the Jews (much like palestinian victims of car accidents are mysteriously included in combat casualty figures).
Whether or not Israel, or fellow palestinian terrorists are, in fact, behind the death of a terrorist is really besides the point. In the absence of facts, a mainstream media organization such as AP should not be taking sides, in clear contravention of journalistic ethics and standards.
