When sticking to the matter under investigation - the purported shooting of women in two separate instances - Ethan Bronner's reporting is professional. When he extrapolates on the matter and seeks to fit it under more general topics, the article suffers.
Early reports from the investigation indicate that soldiers who claim the IDF shot innocent women had not witnessed such an account, EB writes. One would think that the article would end there, but extrapolations follow.
Paragraphs 12, 13, and 14 are not quite news, as EB links the unfounded accusations to civilian death counts, religion in the IDF, the use of military force, the nature of Hamas, an Israeli-Palestinian settlement, and the boycott of Gaza. NYT's laundry list of important issues is dumped on the reader.
Several paragraphs later, EB explores the discrepancy between Israeli and Palestinian civilian death counts. The Israeli numbers appear better substantiated.
The conclusion of the article addresses the matter of religion in the army, echoing the cliche charge that religion fuels war. The statements of four Israelis, however, defend religious soldiers and refute the baseless accusation.
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