Yesterday, Palestinians continued to "threaten the fragile/shaky ceasefire" by launching rocket number sixty-something into Israel. This time they managed to put two Israeli schoolboys on their deathbeds. Having to do something (but not wanting - God forbid - to break the ceasefire), Olmert ordered the resumption of attacks against rocket launching crews. For the last month, rocket launching crews have been able to fire at Israeli schoolhouses and hospitals with impunity. Here's how the BBC is covering the decision.

Headline: Israel to resume militant strikes Now you might be thinking that this implies that the Israeli strikes are militant. You might be thinking this because you have a basic understanding of English grammar. The BBC, of course, would claim that this is just an accident and that they meant "militant strikes" to be "strikes against militants". Of course they did.

Lede: Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has ordered a resumption of military strikes against Palestinian militants firing rockets from Gaza into Israel. Less than one in ten newspaper readers ever get past the lede of an article. So that means that only one in ten readers has a chance of learning that this is actually in response to Palestinians almost killing two little boys, after about a month of Israel letting them do whatever they want.

Second paragraph: Mr Olmert said troops had been instructed to "take pinpoint action against rocket-launching squads" after two Israeli boys were hurt in a strike. Ah, finally - we learn that "two Israeli boys were hurt in a strike". No mention of the fact that they're in the hospital, and that they still might die. Just the minimum so that the BBC can maintain plausible deniability about being biased.

And so on.

Now there's of course the broader question of why the Palestinians are being called "militants" instead of "terrorists", since they were clearly firing at civilians. Here's where we part with most of the pro-Israel blogosphere. We actually endorse referring to Palestinian and Hezbollah forces as militants. We're even open to going further and calling them soldiers. They're the de facto armed forces of the Palestinian and Lebanese governments. So let's call them that. Those governments, as a matter of official policy and international law, claim to be under occupation and in a state of war with Israel - and their proxy armies are waging that war. They're not committing terrorism by targeting Israeli schoolchildren. They're committing war crimes.

Previously: The BBC Lies, BBC Slips, Proves Liberal Gaza Occupation Fetish, BBC Misleads in Article, Clarifies in Sidebar, Regarding Israeli Settlements