ISRAEL ACCUSES AL JAZEERA OF BIAS, WILL BOYCOTT ITS REPORTERS

Which is the most delusional and neo-con? The Bush regime or Israel's Olmert? Both seem to think they can solve all problems with bombs and missiles. Another similar trait is that they both want to kill the news messenger when they don't like the message.

The BBC reports that the Israel government is boycotting Al Jazeera because it thinks that its news is slanted.

"Israel has announced a boycott of the Arabic broadcaster al-Jazeera, accusing it of bias during coverage of the conflict in the Gaza Strip. Ministers will refuse to do interviews and will deny visa applications from its staff, Israeli Deputy Foreign Minister Majali Wahbe said. He accused the Qatari-owned station of prioritising Palestinian suffering."

Where have we heard this before? From Bush, Cheney and Rumsfeld. They did not appreciate Al Jazeera's reporting from Iraq which showed the suffering and injuries to the civilian Iraqi population caused by U.S. missiles, bombs and U.S. troop rampages. Maybe this was the reason why several Al Jazeera reporters were killed by U.S. soldiers, the Baghdad office of Al Jazeera was targeted by a U.S. bomb, and an Al Jazeera photographer remains locked up in Guantanamo for the last five years without trial or charges.

Now it is Israeli government's turn to deny the Al Jazeera message. Reports the BBC:

"Israeli officials backed their claim by saying al-Jazeera had covered the Gaza incursion but not the Palestinian rocket attacks against the Israeli city of Ashkelon. . . .

"Bureau chief Walid al-Omari argued that his reporters had covered a Palestinian shooting attack in Jerusalem last week in which eight Israelis were killed. Israel is trying to "intimidate al-Jazeera to influence our coverage", Mr Omari said. "We are not the ones who launch rockets at Israel, and we are not the ones who send F-16s to bomb Gaza," he added. "

Press censorship of Al Jazeera did not work when called for by Bush and his gang. It won't work either this time when embraced by Olmert or his neo-con government. The whole world can see what is going on. America, the land of the free and the home of the brave, imprisons and tortures suspects. Israel, the one democracy in the Middle East, sends in war planes and tanks against a civilian Palestinian population.