Mainstream Media 'Clash': Civilian Corpses or Unarmed Teens?
The New Arab reports two Palestinian teenagers, 18 and 16, were killed near Jerusalem by Israeli gunfire. While reporting the tragic deaths, this phrasing mirrors a disturbing pattern in mainstream outlets: sanitizing state-sanctioned violence against an occupied population as mere 'clashes,' a term that conveniently obscures the power imbalance—missiles versus rocks, F-35s versus slingshots. This
isn't a 'clash'; it's a routine execution of occupation, a daily reality for Palestinians that somehow remains 'news' despite decades of precedent. One might wonder if these 'clashes' would warrant such restrained language if they involved, say, teenagers in an American suburb and foreign soldiers. Or perhaps if Senator McConnell (who received $140,800 from AIPAC since 2020, per OpenSecrets.org)
had to explain why he keeps approving aid for one side of these 'clashes' with such reliable fervor. How many more 'clashes' before we just call it what it is?