A critical question, and one I have not gotten a reliable answer to. The impression we are designed to get is that the slain Palestinians, like the dead Israelis at the marketplace, were all unarmed noncombatants shot in the back while used for target practice by the Evil Jews.

If the dead were armed soldiers, then the fact that more of them died than Israeli soldiers is irrelevant. In fact, in a war, it is a desired result: making the other poor bastard die for his country.

Israel is making a mistake trying to shut out the media entirely. The Palestinians will claim many hundreds of non-combatant casualties. The Israelis will claim few casualties, and will say they were armed combatants. Sez you, sez me. Some form on independent viewpoint would help at least some, even though the leftist media is sympathetic to the Palestinians. Is Israel even documenting or filming stuff on their own?