Irresponsible reporting

Editorial

The Associated Press/Arizona Republic coverage of Israel's March 22 killing of Hamas' founding leader Ahmed Yassin is truly misleading and historically inaccurate.

A March 22 article in The Arizona Republic headlined "Hamas leader was 'marked for death,'" describes Yassin in the second paragraph as a quadriplegic, but fails to mention that he was a terrorist responsible for directing 425 terror attacks that killed 377 Israelis.

A related AP story in the same issue of the Republic describes Yassin "as a symbol of the Palestinian battle for independence." Only in the inset does the reader learn that Hamas' goal is an "Islamic Middle East." The implication? No Israel, no democracy, no religious pluralism.

"Outrage over killing ripples worldwide," an AP story published on Page 1 of the March 23 Republic, contains an inset, "A history of violence," that begins with the words, "Some of the larger incidents of violence and key years since 1948, when Jewish settlers declared the nation of Israel and seized much of Palestine" (italics added).

What a glaring falsehood. "Palestine" did not exist, and in 1947, the United Nations called for the creation of two states - an Israeli state and an Arab state. In the preceding years, Jews had not seized the land; they purchased it legally. And then they had to fight for their existence when Egypt, Syria, Transjordan, Lebanon and Iraq invaded in 1948.

In a March 23 editorial, "Danger grows," the Republic, while acknowledging Yassin's evil influence, condemns his killing as an act that will increase violence in the region. It argues: "Israel has been using assassinations to go after heads of various terrorist snakes for years, without any drop-off in violence." Not true.

After Hamas' Passover suicide bombing in Netanya in 2002, Israel began to target terrorist leaders. This led to a 30 percent drop in terrorist attacks and a 50 percent decrease of Israeli fatalities in 2003.

The editorial also expresses concern that as a result of Israel's action, the United States will become a Hamas target. Here's a news tip: The United States already is an absolute target. Nothing Israel does will change that.

Finally, the editorial states that Yassin's killing "is a huge setback for any prospects of peace in the Middle East." It off-handedly mentions Al-Qaida but fails to give even a mention to the Palestinian Authority, Iraqi terrorists or Saudi Arabia's funding of extremist mosques and madrasses.

The Associated Press and Arizona Republic would be well advised to cease and desist from portraying Israel as the primary source of unrest in the turbulent, violent Middle East.

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