False claims of "massacre" of "worshippers" in Hebron

Ali Abunimah and Nigel Parry comment on the media coverage of the recent "Sabbath Massacre" in the West Bank over the weekend:

News media and public officials did not wait for the full story to emerge before jumping to the conclusion that Jewish "worshippers" had been killed in a Palestinian ambush in the occupied West Bank city of Hebron on Friday. In fact, those killed were all Israeli soldiers and armed paramilitary settlers.

Many media accounts reported the initial Israeli government version of the events with little question and no cautions that the information was coming from one source and that it had not been confirmed. Almost every report said that Palestinian militants had first attacked "Jewish worshippers" and then ambushed soldiers who attempted to come to their rescue.

...Yet by the morning, the Israeli media were reporting that an intial army investigation had found that the Palestinian attackers had instead targeted the Israeli army, not the settlers, and those killed in Hebron were nine armed occupation soldiers, and three armed paramilitary settlers. No civilian worshippers were killed.

...Earlier this year, Israeli officials and many media commentators were sharply critical of Palestinian officials for describing Israel's actions in Jenin as a "massacre." No such qualms restrain those who adopt this term to describe attacks in which Israelis are victims. Hence an ambush which killed only armed combatants became the "Sabbath Massacre."

Reuters reports on this, as well.