UPDATED: A.P. AND PALESTINIAN "YOUTHS"

THE A.P. IS AT IT AGAIN. THIS WEEKEND, ISRAELI TROOPS FIRED ON THREE PALESTINIAN "YOUTHS" IN GAZA. TERRORISTS? SOCCER PLAYERS? SEE BELOW. A.P.'s HEADLINE GIVES YOU A CLUE WHICH WAY THEY'RE GOING:

Israeli Troops Kill 3 Palestinian Teens.
GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip - Israeli troops fired on a group of Palestinian youths in a Gaza refugee camp Saturday, killing three teenagers in the deadliest incident in the Gaza Strip since Israel and the Palestinians declared a cease-fire two months ago.

The two sides offered dramatically different versions of the shooting, which shattered weeks of calm and added to tensions surrounding plans by Jewish extremists to march on a disputed holy site in Jerusalem on Sunday.

"DRAMATICALLY DIFFERENT VERSIONS." YOU BET. HERE'S THE PALESTINIAN VERSION:

Ali Abu Zeid, a 22-year-old Rafah resident, said the teens were playing soccer when the ball was kicked toward a border fence. “The kids ran after it, and that’s when we heard gunfire,” he said. Palestinian hospital officials said two of the dead youths were 15, and the third was 14.

HERE'S THE ISRAELI VERSION:

An Israeli commander at the scene said the youths were spotted crawling on their stomachs deep inside a closed military zone. He said three of the youths got to their feet and began running toward the border. The teenagers were about 250 yards into the closed area when they were shot on a military patrol road, he said.

“These kids were not playing soccer,” said the commander, whose name was withheld under military regulations. “You don’t get there by accident.”

HMMMM. WHOM TO BELIEVE? HOW COULD PEACEFUL PALESTINIAN "YOUTHS" BE ENGAGED IN TERROR? I JUST CAN'T IMAGINE IT. MAYBE IF I HAD VIDEO OR PHOTOGRAPHS.....

PA Admits Palestinian Youths Were Smugglers - Amos Harel
The commander of the Palestinian forces inside Gaza, Mussa Arafat, reported - both to Israel and the PA leadership - that the three Palestinian youths were smugglers. A videotape documents them approaching the Egyptian border, far beyond the reach of a kicked football that Palestinian witnesses said they had gone to retrieve. But the PA announcements on the subject focused on condemning Israel. (Ha'aretz)

AND WHAT WERE THEY SMUGGLING? COULD IT BE....WEAPONS?

Weapon Smuggling Attempt Thwarted Along Israeli-Egyptian Border
On Saturday an IDF force deployed on the Israeli-Egyptian border near Rafah spotted five Palestinians crawling toward a prohibited area. Three of the Palestinians began running towards the border and came within several meters of the IDF force, which opened fire at them. According to the PA, who interrogated the other two Palestinians, they intended to infiltrate to Egypt in order to smuggle weaponry into Israel. Following the incident, the IDF protested to the PA, saying that it did not fulfill its commitment to prevent Palestinians from approaching the border area. A short while later, Palestinian terrorists fired dozens of mortar shells at the Gush Katif area in the southern Gaza Strip. Two houses were damaged in the mortar attacks. (Israel Defense Forces)

LET'S SEE IF A.P. PROVIDES AN UPDATE OF ITS STORY.

HERE'S SOME MORE PROOF OF THE LOVELY LESSONS THE P.A. IS DRUMMING INTO THE HEADS OF PALESTINIAN "YOUTHS."


Two young Palestinians practice with unloaded weapons during a rally of the Al Aqsa Martyr's Brigades militant group, in Gaza City Friday April 8, 2005. (AP Photo/Hatem Moussa)


DON'T WORRY. THESE CHILDREN MAY BE TRAINING WITH REAL GUNS, BUT THE GUNS ARE "UNLOADED"...FOR NOW.