Headline Pompousness

Illegal Israeli Murderer Settler

That's the Al-Jazeera description of a security guard who had opened fire after his car was blocked and stoned by dozens of Palestinians.

And it's a mouthful.

By the way:

The security guard told police that he was driving through the town alone and stopped at a gas station, despite the guidelines which forbade him from stopping in the local stations. The guard added that he feared that he would be abducted after several Palestinians blocked his car.

And here is a Peace Now excuse for the rioting:

The settlers' guard, which is funded by the government of Israel, passed earlier this morning in the street with his Jeep. Like in many cases, there was some kind of friction between him and Palestinian residents. Sometimes the friction is due to some settler provocation, and sometimes it is due to the Palestinians. In any case this could vary from mutual yellings, cursings, to even hittings or stone throwing. I don't know what it was this time. The guard claims he was attacked, the neighbors claim it was a provocation of the guard. One thing is clear: the guard was armed, he used his gun (about 10 times) and Sarhan was killed.

And see how only left-wing bloggers (who don't observe the Holiday) appear at The Lede.

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Huffington Hosts Barghouthi Pal. Propaganda

Huffington guest posts Mustafa Barghouthi, Secretary General of the Palestinian National Initiative. They think him to be a leading contender in the next Palestinian presidential election.

Excerpts:

Palestine's Guernica and the Myths of Israeli Victimhood

The Israeli campaign of 'death from above' began around 11 am, on Saturday morning...The massacre continues Sunday as I write these words.

...Hamas indeed respected their side of the ceasefire, except on those occasions early on when Israel carried out major offensives in the West Bank. In the last two months, the ceasefire broke down with Israelis killing several Palestinians and resulting in the response of Hamas. In other words, Hamas has not carried out an unprovoked attack throughout the period of the cease-fire. [ha!]

...It is also misleading to claim self-defense in a conflict with such an overwhelming asymmetry of power. Israel is the largest military force in the region, and the fifth largest in the world...Israel has always had a comprehensive monopoly over the use of force... [in other words, we're "big", so we can "take the terror"]

...In the end, this will in no way improve the security of the average Israeli; in fact it can be expected to get much worse in the coming days as the massacre could presumably provoke a new generation of suicide bombers...

Truth in Reporting

Over at Huffington Post:

The offensive began eight days after a six-month truce between Israel and the militants expired.

Really?

Well what about this:

Hamas: Cease-fire officially over
Launches massive rocket attack, threatens suicide bombings

Oops, sorry, that was in April 2007.

Well, this then:

A Hamas official on Monday said the ceasefire between the Islamic movement and Israel doesn't reflect his movement's retreat from fighting against Israel.

Oops, that was last July.

And don't forget this:

Jihad ’unhappy’ with Hamas ceasefire

Ah, this should be what I was looking for:

After expressing contradictory positions on Sunday, Hamas' leadership on Monday adopted a united stance: The cease-fire with Israel, which expires this Friday, will not be extended.

That ceasefire just didn't "expire". It was halted. By one side.