Reuters reconsiders level of violence across Gaza-Israel border

As hundreds of Palestinian rockets and mortars have rained down on Israel since the end of the war with Hamas in early 2009, Reuters correspondents have, in over a dozen articles (including this one from just a month ago), characterized the cross-border violence as infrequent:

Israel launched its three-week Gaza offensive on Dec. 27, 2008 with the stated aim of stopping rocket attacks by Hamas and other Palestinian factions. Such attacks have tapered off since, though there has been sporadic cross-border violence.

In a story today of an accusation that Israeli soldiers killed a Palestinian who approached the Gaza border, Reuters correspondents Nidal al-Mughrabi and Dan Williams reconsider the persistence of the violence:

Israel invaded Gaza in a three-week offensive 16 months ago to force an end to rocket fire by Hamas and other groups aimed at towns in southern Israel. But the border remains tense and violent incidents involving troops and militants are frequent.

We think this is a much more accurate characterization of the situation and hope Reuters will apply this language consistently the next time Israel is attacked from across the Gaza border.