The lead sentences in the stories about Israel’s attack on the densely-populated Gaza Strip consistently use the trope of ‘retaliation’ and military justification.
AP: ‘Israeli warplanes retaliating for rocket fire from the Gaza Strip pounded. . . ’
The Washington Post: ‘Israeli Warplanes Target Hamas Compounds’.
The Guardian: ‘Scores dead or wounded after missiles hit targets linked to Hamas’
Even the Huffington Post headline echoed this concept: ‘Airstrikes in Response to Recent Rocket Fire’.
None of the headlines provide the perspective from below of the carnage or recall that the civilians on the receiving end of this aerial nightmare aren’t allowed to leave. You won’t see the word ‘trapped’ or ‘slaughter’ in any of the opening paragraphs.
No matter how many defenseless Palestinian civilians are in the line of fire, Israel must always be shown as the beleaguered victim ‘fighting back’. Our papers’ editors never question the contradiction between describing the targeting of densely-populated Gaza with warplanes with terms that suggest legitimate self-defense while never failing to call Hamas ‘terrorists’ when their rockets are aimed at civilian zones.
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