MISLEADING A.P. HEADLINE

Palestinian Killed in Gaza, or Palestinian Killed While Trying to Infiltrate Israel? (NYSun)

"Israel Troops Kill Palestinian in Gaza," is the AP headline .

"Palestinian killed at Gaza border," is the slightly more accurate BBC headline.

And here's the story, as told by the AP:

Israeli troops shot dead a Palestinian early Wednesday and arrested two others, as the men tried to sneak into Israel from the Gaza Strip, the army said.

Palestinian security officials in Gaza said the Israelis had informed them of the incident and that the three men had apparently been manual laborers trying to slip into Israel to find work. After recovering the body, Palestinian officials said the dead man was unarmed and appeared to be a teenager, although he carried no documentation confirming his age.

An army spokeswoman said that before dawn, troops spotted three crouching figures near the dividing fence. When they ignored orders to halt and disregarded warning shots, the soldiers fired at one of the group.

Trying to sneak into Israel. Disregarding orders to halt and warning shots. Certainly not acting like innocent laborers, as the Palestinian officials claim. A general rule when hearing "Palestinian officials" making claims is to take those claims with serious helpings of salt. They regularly try to place all blame on Israel, without knowing any of the facts themselves. Or if they know the facts, they hide them.

And even if the men were innocent laborers, the only people to blame for the death are the men themselves -- for trying to sneak in and disregarding warnings. Israel is at war with terrorists who regularly try to sneak into Israel. Those men were acting like terrorists. If you don't want to get killed, don't try to sneak into Israel and disregard warning shots. Israeli troops were just doing their jobs, defending their country.