THE AGE: Flotilla activists were "terrorists"!

A while ago I came up with the suggestion that news reports on matters covering the Arab/Israel conflict which appear in the Melbourne Age should be read from bottom to top so that a better understanding of the issues can be achieved.

The theory works perfectly if you read today's offering from various authors including Jason Koutsoukis entitled "Pressure Mounts on Israel".

The article all but grudgingly concedes the Israeli version of the events that the bloodshed occurred as a result of the actions of provocateurs on board one of the ships who prepared an ambush for the boarding party.

"Among the scores of people wounded on Monday were several Israeli soldiers whom the military said had been beaten with sticks and stabbed as soon as they landed on the deck. Video footage released by Israel appeared to back up its claim.

"Israel Defence Forces spokesman Arye Shalicar told The Age last night that nine people were confirmed dead in the incident. He said earlier suggestions that up to 19 had died were based on 'a myth that has been mistakenly reported'.

"Reports in the Israeli media claimed the commandos were faced with a terror attack, and that in the end a massacre was prevented."

These paragraphs did not come until well into an article which begins with stories of demonstrations and international condemnation of the Israelis and yet the facts behind what happened on the death ship, the Mavi Marmara are buried deep inside the article and away from the sensational front page story.

This means that the headlines and the majority of the first part of the article condemns Israel as guilty and a few paragraphs make it clear that its soldiers were surprised and attacked, not by peaceful demonstrators but by terrorists embedded on one of the ships. That these terrorists could have taken over the flotilla's agenda thus duping the peace activists, the Israelis and the rest of the world is not discussed. That they were members of the notorious IHH, a branch of the Moslem Brotherhood, which financed most of the flotilla with the blessing of a Turkish government was ignored. The fact that their cause is to support the vicious Hamas junta which controls Gaza and is responsible for the continuing siege will never be mentioned.

Of course, if we take the grudging concession in this article to its full extent, it must mean that the activists who died were part of a terrorist operation designed to achieve a massive propaganda victory for their cause but don't hold your breath waiting for one of the Age analysts to tell you that!

One wonders whether the thought of a massive terrorist scam would have even crossed their minds had Israel not made available a video taken of the events as they unfolded.