Elder Of Ziyon - Israel News

Monday, March 12, 2012

Latest Zionist crime: An offensive cigarette lighter

From Quds Media, in another embarrassing attempt to incite Arabs to war:

In what is being seen as an extension of the commercialization of Israel’s formal Judaisation policies, an Israeli company has sparked wide condemnation for marketing a new lighter which has the Israeli flag superimposed on a picture of the Dome of the Rock in occupied Jerusalem’s Noble Sanctuary of Al-Aqsa. “Israel” is written alongside in Hebrew. Al-Aqsa Foundation for Religious Endowment and Heritage has called the company’s act “a flagrant violation of Al-Aqsa Mosque and an attempt to Judaise it”.

In a statement released to the media, the Foundation said that the Israeli occupation authorities “are trying, through state institutions and now commercial ventures to obliterate Islamic landmarks, especially Al-Aqsa Mosque”. The mosque has been the site of armed incursions by illegal Jewish settlers intent on carrying out Talmudic rituals inside Islam’s third holiest mosque. “This move emphasises the threat to Al-Aqsa Mosque,” claimed the Foundation.

“Israel is trying to strengthen its occupation and hold over Al-Aqsa,” said the statement, “and this is not the first time that the image of Al-Aqsa has been used to promote Israeli goods.” This was a reference to an earlier use of the mosque’s picture on Israeli wine bottles.

Actually, they were vodka bottles as well as wine bottles.

PA elections will be delayed. What a surprise.

From The National (UAE):

Palestinians will not hold presidential and parliamentary elections in May because of disagreements between the two main political factions, a Palestinian elections official said this week.

The gridlocked Hamas-Fatah reconciliation has made it impossible for the Palestinian Central Elections Commission (CEC) to hold elections on May 4, the date originally set by the groups, said the Ramallah-based organisation's chief electoral officer, Hisham Kuhail.

"May 4 is out of the question," said Mr Kuhail, who oversees the CEC. In an interview with The National, he said the commission cannot stage the election primarily because Hamas will not allow it to make the necessary preparations in Gaza, such as updating the voting registry and installing voting centres.

The problem can be resolved only by "real reconciliation between Hamas and Fatah", he said.

Further, under Palestinian law, Palestinian Authority president, Mahmoud Abbas, must issue a decree instructing the CEC to begin preparing for the elections. This process takes 90 days.

"But to this moment, that has not happened," Mr Kuhail said.

The earliest feasible date to organise an election would be after June, he said.

A Hamas-Fatah agreement signed in Cairo last year was supposed to have led to an interim government that would govern both Gaza and the West Bank until elections took place.

Mr Abbas probably will not issue the order for the elections until Hamas and Fatah settle their disagreements over who will run the interim government, sources say.

Given how Gaza Hamas leader Haniyeh has been acting alike a head of state, undermining not only Abbas but even Hamas political leader Meshal, this is hardly surprising. Hamas will not willingly give up or share power in Gaza, and indeed will do everything they can to take over in Ramallah as well, hoping for an Egyptian-style revolution that would replace the current PA leadership with Islamists.

See also Elliot Abrams' commentary.

(h/t Ian)

Egyptian clerics: "Hatred of Jews is a form of worship" (MEMRI)

This one's got it all: Jews are donkeys, "President" Benjamin Franklin (who was president 50 years ago) warned the US against them, calls to kill all Jews, and more.

But don't call them anti-semitic.

Egyptian cleric Gharib Ramadhan: There are very many traits that characterize the Jews, and the Koran focused on a few of them, such as the violation of commitments, from which we suffer to this day. Not just us in Egypt – the entire world suffers from this.

Another trait is their hard-heartedness, God forbid. If you want to know what true hard-heartedness means, go to the Jews. You will find a lot of it there.

[…]

They were deported from England by King Edward, and from France by King Philip. They were deported from Hungary, from Belgium, from Czechoslovakia, from Austria – I won't start with the dates – from Holland, from the Kingdom of Naples, from Russia… Wherever they go they get deported and then they return. For example, they went back to France and to Hungary, and were deported again. If they are good people, how come people get rid of them?

Allah punished them by transforming them into apes and pigs, and by prohibiting them from eating several edible things. He forbade them to eat anything with claws – animals and birds that do not have cloven hooves, like camels, geese, ducks… They are prohibited from eating ducks. If Sheik Amin were here, he could have told us how greatly they were punished.

Moderator: May Allah reward you, Dr. Gharib.

Egyptian cleric Shihab Al-Din Abu Zahu: I would like to comment on…

Moderator: Make it quick, we have a break.

Shihab Al-Din Abu Zahu: He said that they were deported from wherever they went. US President Benjamin Franklin… It is the US that sponsors them today, but if the Americans had acted upon Franklin's legacy, they would have saved America. May Allah make them fall along with the Jews.

US President Benjamin Franklin said: "A great danger threatens the United States of America. That danger is the Jewish danger. In whichever land the Jews have settled, they have corrupted the morals, and lowered the level of commercial honesty. They always isolate themselves and never mix with others. For more than 1,700 years, they have been lamenting their fate, because they were expelled from the lands of their forefathers.

If Palestine were given back to them, not all of them would go there, because they are parasites and cannot live at the expense of their own kind. They must live among the Christians or others not of their race.

If these Jews are not expelled from the United States by the Constitution, within a century, they will be streaming into the US in such large numbers that will enable them to rule and destroy our people. They will change the form of government for which we shed our blood, and for which we have sacrificed our lives, our property, and our personal freedom. Within less than a century, our grandchildren will have to work in the fields in order to feed the Jews, while the Jews control the financial institutions. If the American people do not deport the Jews once and for all, their children and grandchildren will curse them in their graves.

The values of the Jews are not the same of those of the Americans, and will not be the same even if the Jews live among us for ten generations. A leopard cannot change its spots. The Jews will pose a danger to America, if they are allowed freely in. They will destroy US institutions, and the Americans must deport by the Constitution." These are the words of US President Franklin.

[…]

Egyptian cleric Abd Al-Rahman Al-Sawi: In the Koran, Allah called the Jews "donkeys." Donkeys. They are donkeys. What can you do with a donkey? Allah said: "Those who were charged with the Torah, but failed [in this obligation], are similar to a donkey carrying books." These are the Jews, right? They failed in the obligation to carry the Torah.

We are not talking about the Jews of the days of Moses. They repented. They were tormented until they believed in Moses. We don't mean those Jews. We mean the Jews of today. They are like donkeys carrying books. There is a very symbolic story that really moved me.

A man was sitting in his home, when all of a sudden, in walked a donkey. What was he supposed to do with this donkey? He began screaming: "Donkey, get out! Get out!" But the donkey wouldn't leave. "Don't you understand? Get out," he said, but the donkey wouldn't budge. What was he to do? He grabbed a microphone, and screamed: "People, I have a donkey in my home, and he must leave." But the donkey would not move. He brought all the neighbors, and they all began shouting: "We denounced the donkey for entering your home." But the donkey wouldn't leave.

The man said to the donkey: "The apartment has three bedrooms, a bathroom, and a living room. Take one room, and leave the rest to us." The donkey twitched its ear, but wouldn't leave. The man said: "Donkey, take two rooms," but the donkey wouldn't leave. "Take the room, and we will live in the bathroom." To no avail. Finally, the people began to scream: "The donkey won't leave!"

A little boy heard them, walked in with a small stick, and began beating the donkey until it got out. Beat a donkey, and it will immediately jump. That's what you do with donkeys.

[…]

[The Jews] support all the means of corruption. They support whorehouses. They support satellite dishes in order to air whatever they like. Birth control pills and devices are supported by the Jews. Dr. Shihab quoted President Franklin, who was US president 40-50 years ago. He said that they spread corruption even among the Americans. That is why they were deported from everywhere.

[…]
Egyptian cleric 'Alaa Said: The [Jews] are treacherous. Allah, who created them, told us so. We must be resolute and fill hearts with hatred and loathing. By Allah, the hatred and loathing of Jews is a form of worship. When we make our children loathe the Jews, it is a form of worship of Allah. These are people hated and loathed by Allah.

[…]

Abd Al-Rahman Al-Sawi: I want our children to be raised on this notion. When I give a child a toy, I give him a gun, not a football. Enough with the football. I give him a gun and tell him: Shoot, but don't shoot your brother. Shoot the Jews.

(h/t O)

Islamist terrorist cell discovered - in Lebanese army

From Naharnet:

Prime Minister Najib Miqati confirmed on Monday that the Lebanese army had busted a cell within its ranks planning attacks on military barracks.

In remarks to reporters at the Grand Serail, Miqati said: “The Lebanese army uncovered a terrorist cell that was planning an attack on its barracks and is carrying out the necessary investigation.”

He said the cell is active in northern Lebanon with branches in the Palestinian camps and mainly in Ain al-Hilweh. “But it has nothing to do with the situation in Syria.”

His confirmation came after al-Akhbar daily reported that the army arrested two Salafist soldiers linked to the Abdullah Azzam Brigades allied with the al-Qaida terrorist network.

The men are reportedly part of a larger network consisting of four Lebanese and one Palestinian identified as Abu Mohammed Toufiq Taha who is the Brigades’ ringleader in Ain el-Hilweh and wanted on several charges.

While Taha is on the run, the other six were arrested by the army intelligence, al-Akhbar said.

How much vetting does the Lebanese army do, anyway? "Do you hate Israel? OK, you're in!"

"Moderate" Fatah celebrates anniversary of Coastal Road Massacre

Yesterday was the anniversary of the 1978 Coastal Road Massacre, where 38 Israelis - including 13 children - were murdered by a team of bus hijackers that was led by celebrated Palestinian Arab terrorist Dalal Mughrabi.

So Fatah is celebrating this great victory.

Fatah organized a soccer tournament and a poetry festival in the name of Mughrabi. Events were held in Khan Younis and Ramallah. Prominent Fatah members spoke. A special radio show to mark the event was broadcast.

Israel's supposed peace partners celebrate the murder of these Jewish children every year, and indeed all year, as this PA video from January shows:

Islamic Jihad refuses cease fire - because they think they are winning

Islamic Jihad put out an announcement saying that they refuse to consider a cease-fire from their rocket attacks. And the reason seems to be that they think that they are winning.

The Al-Quds Brigades military wing of Islamic Jihad Movement in Palestine, Saraya ...announced its responsibility for the bombing of targets with missiles named "Locusts" and "Jerusalem" and "107" and mortars. The number of rockets and missiles launched by Saraya since the start of the aggression is now more than 180.

The Al-Quds Brigades in several separate military communications, said the harvest of jihad in the ongoing battle with the enemy for a fourth day in a row came as follows:
- Q 2:50 dawn: the bombing of the city of Ashkelon with a Jerusalem rocket.
- 3:10 am Q: the bombing of the city of Beersheba Grad rocket.
- 3:20 am Q: Beersheba bombing Grad rocket.
- Q 4:00: the bombing of a gathering of the mechanisms of Zionism within the site Kissufim mortar with 3 120 mm.
- Q 7:30: the bombing of the Sufa crossing a missile 107.
- Q 9:30: the bombing of the city of Beersheba, occupied by 3 Grad rockets.
- Q 9:40: the bombing of military site Kerem Shalom with 3 mortars.
- 10:15 Q: the bombing of the occupied city of Ashdod with a Grad rocket.
- 10:30 Q: the bombing of a military post east of Beit Hanoun by two mortars.
- 11:20 Q: bombing a missile complex in Eshkol with a 107.
- 12:30 Q: bombing site Nahal Oz with 3 missiles, "107."
- 12:40 Q: occupied Beersheba bombing by 3 Grad rockets.
- 1:15 pm: City of Gan Yavne bombing with a Grad.

Al-Quds Brigades confirmed that there is no truce with the Zionist enemy, and that the battle is still open and ongoing. It stressed to move forward on the approach of the martyrs and the resistance until the liberation of the entire territory of Palestine from the sea to the river.

The "Al-Quds Brigades" military wing of Islamic Jihad still leads the field of resistance and confrontation, and made enormous sacrifices of the finest Mujahideen and fighters, and managed thanks to God to shoot to the occupation more than 170 rockets and shells since the start of the Zionist aggression on the Gaza Strip.

On the other hand the life in cities and Zionist settlements is now non-existent, and millions of Zionist usurpers are still inside the shelters, for the fourth consecutive day, out of fear and horror of the blessed rockets of the Quds Brigades, that have turned their nights into day, and towns into ghost towns, amid the continuing enemy leaders begging for calm demanding the return of calm and cease missiles, and this is what Al-Quds Brigades rejects out of hand, to not allow the enemy to pay themselves with the blood of the Mujahideen and their leaders and heroes of the resistance, whenever he pleases.

For its part, the leadership of "Al-Quds Brigades" military wing of Islamic Jihad Movement in Palestine will continue its jihad at all costs, in light of the Zionist escalation of the Gaza Strip, and will not talk about calm at all.

The command said in a statement to Al Saraya yesterday that the bombing would be met by bombing and to step up the escalation will be met, and will continue to respond to crimes of the occupation against the Mujahideen and their leaders and heroes of the Palestinian resistance. She added that the morale of the hero fighters are at the highest levels.

Islamic Jihad stresses that she has the means to survive and continue, warning the occupation against going too far in his crimes against the militants in the Gaza Strip. And at the same time it denied the rumors of the news of a calm that was to enter into force at 12 last night.

The Islamic Jihad websites are filled with contradictory articles about how the Zionists are being forced to run to shelters and stay away from school, while at the same time they are performing war crimes on the citizens of Gaza.

Here are the brave mujahadeen who are too afraid to show their faces at a press conference:

PRC terrorists admit Hamas is not discouraging rocket fire

Hamas apologists love to say that any rocket fire from Gaza is done despite Hamas efforts for calm. While this may be true sometimes, the current attacks - some 180 rockets since Friday - are being done without any Hamas interference whatsoever.

Keep in mind that Hamas has complete control over the tunnels into Gaza, so it knows about every rocket being smuggled in. And that means that every Grad rocket being shot by terror groups like Islamic Jihad were acquired with the full knowledge and approval of Hamas.

(h/t Ian)

Terrorists attack trucks bringing aid to Gaza

From the IDF:

This morning, Palestinian terrorists fired three mortars on the Palestinian side of the Kerem Shalom crossing. The mortars struck a truck and a van on their way to deliver goods to the people of Gaza. Following the shooting, activity at the crossing was suspended for just a few minutes. After evaluating the situation, it was decided to continue operations at the crossing, where goods continue to be transferred from Israel into the Gaza Strip.

Yesterday, over 180 trucks of goods were transferred from Israel to Gaza.

COGAT adds:

The mortars hit the Palestinian side of the crossing and hit a Palestinian truck that transfers goods from Israel to Gaza Strip, also the Palestinian crossing manager car was hit.

Israel continues to send aid to Gaza even when the aid trucks themselves are being shelled by Gazans!

Will anyone in Gaza condemn the firing of mortars aimed at aid trucks - even when those mortars land on the Arab side of the crossing?

Palestinian Arabs lie about teenager death (updated x2)

Ma'an reports:

Israeli airstrikes killed two Islamic Jihad militants and a 15-year-old boy on Monday, bringing the death toll since Friday to 21 people.

Nayif Shaaban Qarmout, 15, was killed in Beit Lahiya, north Gaza, Ma'an's correspondent said.

Witnesses said that the 15-year-old was playing with friends in a play ground near his school when an Israeli missile hit the area.

But AFP reports:

The Israeli army on Monday denied it had carried out an air strike on northern Gaza which killed a teenager, with an AFP correspondent confirming there was no sign of an air raid.

Fifteen-year-old Nayef Qarmut was killed and six other teenagers injured as they were on their way to school near the northern town of Beit Lahiya, with a spokesman for the Palestinian medical services blaming an Israeli drone strike.

"A drone strike hit a group of students who were walking by empty land on their way to school," said spokesman Adham Abu Selmiya, describing an incident which occurred at around 9:30am (0730 GMT).

But the Israeli military, after looking into the claim, denied it had conducted any air strikes in northern Gaza then, saying the last time it had struck the area was in the early hours of Monday.

"From an initial check, there were no air strikes in the northern Gaza Strip since the early hours of the morning," a military spokesman told AFP.

According to an AFP correspondent at the scene, there were no signs of any impact on the ground which could have been caused by a missile, with the most likely cause of his death being some kind of explosive device he was carrying.

The victim lost his legs in the blast and his body was covered with shrapnel wounds, he said.

Six other school children were injured, two of whom were in critical condition, while four sustained moderate wounds, medics said.

Once again, when both sides make contradictory claims, and the facts are checked out, it is found that that the Palestinian Arabs lie, repeatedly.

Yet many journalists, and especially "advocacy journalists," will unquestioningly believe any statements given out by Palestinian Arab officials and supposed "eyewitnesses."

UPDATE: PCHR also mindlessly repeats the lie, showing that it does not investigate allegations the way it pretends to.

UPDATE 2: Challah Hu Akbar found photos of the scene, and it sure doesn't look like an airstrike. Yet it is still being considered as such by Western media who are counting this death as one that was from Israel.

(h/t T34)

Videos of IDF attacking terrorist weapons depots

Yesterday, a spectacular set of explosions at a Hamas weapons depot:

An Islamic Jihad weapons depot tht was targeted today:

Report: US ambassador to Egypt flees country after violent protests

On Friday, there were violent protests in front of the US Embassy in Cairo.

It appears that they were enough to prompt the US ambassador to flee Egypt, according to Bikya Masr:

Anger toward the United States is growing in Egypt, and on Friday, some 100 angry demonstrators took to the US Embassy in Cairo to voice their concern, clashing with security forces in the area.

As a result of the rising tension and anger toward the US, the country’s ambassador to Egypt Anne Patterson reportedly has fled the country to Germany en route back to the United States.

On Friday, the protesters called for an end to military rule over Egypt, which they argue is a result of American support and backing, both financially and politically.

The demonstrators clashed briefly with soldiers stationed near the US embassy in downtown Cairo.

Shouting “Down with military power!” the protesters lobbed stones at the soldiers, who responded by throwing them back and trying to disperse the crowd.

The US Embassy in Cairo would not reveal to Bikyamasr.com when the ambassador would be returning to Cairo, saying the security situation at the embassy is “under control.”

No confirmation of this report yet from any other source.

Fatah is also shooting at Jews - from Gaza and in the West Bank

Ma'an reports that the Ayman Juda group within the Al-Aqsa Brigades took responsibility for some of the rockets that slammed into Israel on Saturday.

The Al Aqsa Brigades are part of Fatah. You know, the "moderate" terrorist group that Mahmoud Abbas and Saeb Erekat belong to.

But that's not all this peace-loving terror group did this weekend.

Today they claimed responsibility for shooting at a civilian bus on Highway 60 near Ariel at the Givat-Assaf junction. No one was injured.

This must be another of those "non-violent popular protests" we hear so much about.

A'jad to lead Iranian effort to censor Internet use

From Al Arabiya:

The Iranian minister of communication and technology accused Western nations of using the internet as a tool for spying and spreading corruption, Iran’s semi-official Fars news agency reported on Saturday.

“Unfortunately, the Western states, the U.S. on top of them, are using the internet for spying and spreading corruption on Earth, but Iran has started a movement in administering internet use and will definitely limit such (Western) misuses through the aid and assistance of (the world) free circles,” Reza Taqipour was quoted by Fars news agency as saying at a meeting with the Iraqi minister of Communication Muhammad Tawfiq Allawi.

“The Internet should be at all states’ service and not for Western economic misuses and demonization of other states,” Taqipour added.

Taqhipour announced that Iran will within weeks launch a “halal” network that will provide Iranians with a safe environment to surf the web as it will be “clean” of “immoral” sites.

Iranian officials have said in the past that the Internet could open the nation to a cultural invasion from the West and make it vulnerable to computer viruses, such as the Stuxnet worm that attacked its nuclear facilities. Many believe the malware was created by Israel or the United States to block Iran’s nuclear progress.

In January, Iran’s head of police, Esmail Ahmadi Moghaddam, stated that Google is not a search engine but rather an instrument for spying.

Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Wednesday ordered the creation of a new government agency to monitor cyberspace in an aggressive step in the ongoing crackdown on online activities by ordinary Iranians.

Khamenei issued a decree calling for a Supreme Council of Cyberspace, an entity that would be headed by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and would include other top Iranian officials, including the intelligence chief and the head of the Revolutionary Guards.

“Planning and constant coordination” of the Internet are needed “to prevent its damages and consequences,” the decree said. The council should have “a constant and comprehensive monitoring over the domestic and international cyberspace,” it added.

Iranians have grappled with increased obstacles to using the Internet since opposition supporters used social networking sites to organize widespread protests after the disputed 2009 re-election of Ahmadinejad.

It's a neat trick to impose censorship and spy on local activists' Internet usage in the name of "morality."

It is unclear if this "halal" network is completely self-contained or just heavily censored. If it is really an Iranian intranet, with no connectivity to the world, then any viruses that do happen to get introduced (by USB or CD-ROM, for example) would spread far faster since every anti-virus program relies on updates over the Internet.

And I thought from reading that world-renowned Iran ~~expert~~ apologist Juan Cole that Khamenei hated Ahmadinejad. Why is he entrusting him with leading the nation's cyber-police?

Jordan Press Association tells members they must be biased against Israel

From Jordan Times December 21 (h/t Zvi):

When Israel is involved, patriotism should take precedence over all other considerations, Jordan Press Association (JPA) President Tareq Momani emphasised.

The 950-member JPA opposes contact between its members and Israelis, he noted, adding that the case is different with respect to the state-run media.

“We are totally against any contact with Israelis. The issue here is not just about journalism. Israel for us is still an enemy occupying Arab land and oppressing Arab people. We will not accept giving their views platform,” Momani told The Jordan Times yesterday.

Last Thursday, Al Ghad daily reported that a Jordanian woman was suing the Israeli embassy for holding her against her will for 24 hours. The article had only the statement by the woman, who was employed by the embassy, and that of her lawyers, but lacked any response from the Israeli side.

The reporter, Mwaffaq Kamal, told The Jordan Times that his decision not to get a comment from the Israelis was in line with his institution’s editorial policy, but is also within his personal convictions.

“I agree that professionalism requires balanced reporting, but for me this is a case that involves an enemy,” Kamal told The Jordan Times on Saturday, adding that he complied with the JPA regulations.

“Professionalism requires giving space to all parties to give their side of the story, and it is the readers’ decision to make up their minds,” Arab Reporters for Investigative Journalism Executive Director Rana Sabbagh told The Jordan Times yesterday.

She underlined the sensitivity of issues related to Israel, but stressed that in news coverage, professionalism should be above all considerations.

“Jordan has signed a peace treaty with Israel. Therefore, there is so much integration and collaboration between the two sides. For example, when reporting about water issues, Israelis should be contacted for a comment,” she said, adding, however, that this is an individual decision and editors cannot force journalists to do something that contradicts their principles.

The JPA Law does not contain penalties against journalists who contact Israelis in the course of their reporting, but the head of the association’s disciplinary committee, Fayez Mubaydeen, told The Jordan Times that there can be a price to pay, which goes as far as revoking or suspending membership in the association.

“When such a case is reported to the association, the disciplinary committee looks into it and raises its recommendation to the JPA council to take action accordingly,” he said.

Tareq Hmeidi, an Al Rai reporter, told The Jordan Times that earlier this year, he was invited to a science conference in Qatar but decided to forego it when he heard that Israelis were also taking part in the event.

“Regardless of my personal views, I cannot go against public opinion. The conference was purely scientific and had nothing to do with politics, but I decided to boycott it, in compliance with the regulations of the JPA,” said Hmeidi, adding that he was criticised by the US-based Science magazine for not attending.

And this is from a state that is at peace with Israel!

Western media relies on Arab reporting, especially English-language Arab reporting. Western journalists who see an article in a Jordanian or Kuwaiti newspaper will naturally trust that their fellow journalist is unbiased and fair, and will use the information relatively uncritically. Journalists generally feel they are all on the same side, the side of "truth."

As a result, when a significant number of Arab reporters freely admit that they have no intention to report fairly about Israel, this affects Western coverage of Israel as well.

Do journalists have any ethics on Twitter? (updated)

When journalists tweet, do they have the same ethical responsibilities as they do when writing articles?

Apparently, pro-Palestinian journalists don't believe so.

George Hale from Ma'an tweeted yesterday:

4 people injured after Israeli forces open fire toward mourners near the eastern cemetery -#Gaza medical official

Never mind that Gaza medical officials have been known to, um, how should I put it? - lie. A piece of information gets released, and it gets tweeted without verification.

Joseph Dana retweeted the same information adding, "Classy."

Only one problem: It never happened.

It was reported in Gulf Today/AFP this way:

Palestinian security officials said that at one funeral, east of Gaza City and close to the Israeli border fence, Israeli troops opened fire at a crowd of mourners, wounding four people, one in the head.

But PCHR, which is reporting every single attack by Israel, is silent on the topic. You can be sure if it happened they would have noted it. Similarly, Ma'an never reported on any gunfire at a funeral, even though their editor was the first to tweet the information. Why not?

But step back for a second. Does the story make any sense at all? Israeli troops aren't in Gaza, so how could they shoot mourners at a funeral? With rockets? Helicopter gunships? Really long range machine guns?

In other words, how much do you have to hate Israel to believe that the IDF is shooting at funerals?

So what really happened?

From AP:

Tens of thousands of Palestinian mourners marched through the streets in funeral processions. They carried slain militants in coffins, their bodies too torn up to be wrapped in cloth, as Muslim tradition dictates. Masked militants sprayed machine gun fire above the mourners' heads in angry grief.

Ah, so the only gunfire in Gaza at funerals is coming from the terrorists. If anyone was injured by gunfire, it came from terrorists shooting their own weapons.

But the tweets live on, get retweeted, and people who read tweets from journalists give them the same credibility that they give articles that were edited and vetted (not that they are so much better, as we see from AFP.) They rarely get retracted or corrected, because, hey, its only Twitter, right? (And if pushed, they'll just fall back on saying that they were quoting "officials" who they know quite well routinely lie.)

And the truth gets lost in the sea of hate and bias.

UPDATE: PCHR does describe the incident:

At approximately 14:00 also on Saturday, Israeli soldiers stationed at observation towers at the border between the Gaza Strip and Israel to the east of the northern Gaza Strip town of Jabalya opened fire at a number of Palestinian civilians who got close to the border and threw stones, during the funeral procession of a number of victims of Israeli air strikes. Five civilians were wounded by gunshots, including two ones who were in serious conditions.

It is doubtful that the funeral procession came within 300 meters of the border, so the Gazans deliberately went over to the border that the IDF keeps clear to avoid terror attacks. (h/t Bruan)

UPDATE 2: See Israellycool on some other lies flying around Twitter.