BBC’s Knell amplifies Hamas PR while sidestepping ISIS-Hamas collaboration

BBC Watch

For nearly two and a half years the BBC has managed to avoid producing any serious reporting on the subject of collaboration between Hamas and the ISIS franchise operating in the Sinai Peninsula.

Back in August 2013 the BBC’s Yolande Knell told audiences that:

“Cairo has repeatedly accused Hamas of interfering in Egyptian affairs and has accused Palestinians of supporting Islamist militants in the increasingly restive Sinai region.”

Failing to provide any objective information concerning those Egyptian claims, she then promoted the following statement from Hamas’ Ghazi Hamad:

“They have a plan in order to distort the image of Gaza in order to start propaganda and media campaign against Gaza, against Hamas, in order to show Gaza is like a devil and Hamas is like a devil,” Mr Hamed [sic] said.

“I think they succeeded to do this on the Egyptian street, in the Egyptian society.”

In October 2014 the…

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BBC Two’s ‘Inside Obama’s White House’: unchallenging and uncritical

BBC Watch

BBC Two has been showing a series titled ‘Inside Obama’s White House’ and the third episode of that programme – already shown on March 29^th and to be broadcast again tonight at 23:15 local time – addresses the topic of the US president’s record in the Middle East.

The synopsis to that episode – titled “Don’t Screw It Up” – reads as follows:

“Episode three explores how Barack Obama set out to end George Bush’s wars in the Middle East and reset relations with the rest of the world. In Cairo he speaks to the Arab world, calling democracy a human right. Two years later when protest erupts in Tahrir Square, the president is torn between secretary of state Hillary Clinton and defense secretary Robert Gates, who believe Egypt’s President Hosni Mubarak provides regional stability, and his young advisors, who are in tune with the promise of the Arab Spring…

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BBC’s ‘Newsbeat’ discovers terrorists in Israel

BBC Watch

h/t JS

BBC Radio 1’s ‘Newsbeat’ recently produced an article about the change to British Summer Time titled “The time when the clocks changed by more than an hour“. At the end of that report we find unusual use of the term ‘terrorists’ in connection with Israel – albeit well over a decade and a half ago – as well as mention of a country the BBC style guide correctly says does not exist.

“So, in day-to-day coverage of the Middle East you should not affix the name ‘Palestine’ to Gaza or the West Bank – rather, it is still an aspiration or an historical entity.”

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BBC News website promotes 3 year old inaccurate related reading

BBC Watch

On March 27^th the BBC News website’s Middle East page published an article about the Israeli High Court of Justice’s decision concerning the government’s natural gas policy which was handed down on the same day.

Titled “Israel’s Mediterranean gas deal struck down by top court“, the report tells the specific story in an accurate manner – although those unfamiliar with its wider background may have had trouble understanding the court’s objections. Despite its usual interest in internal Israeli affairs, the topic of public objections and political wrangling surrounding the gas policy has not been covered by the BBC in recent months.

It was hence not very surprising to see that the article offered as additional reading on the topic both at the bottom of the report and on the main Middle East page is nearly three years old.

Unfortunately, that May 2013 article by Yolande Knell –…

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BBC Radio London provides a platform for conspiracy theories

BBC Watch

h/t AH

The March 24^th edition of the BBC Radio London late-night phone-in show ‘Duncan Barkes’ was hosted by stand-in presenter Chris Rogers.

Under the title “Terrorism and roadworks”, one topic put forward for discussion was the potential further arming of police in the UK in light of the terror attacks (interestingly, termed as such) in Brussels and Paris.

However, during the first hour of the show (available for a limited period of time here) listeners heard very little discussion of that topic. What they got to hear instead was the repeated promotion of bizarre conspiracy theories.

In relation to the Brussels attack two days previously, from around 22:17 ‘Steve in Streatham’ told listeners that:

“This is a terrorist false flag. Anyone who knows about false flags will know that these covert operations include Israel’s Mossad, the CIA and MI5 to blame other countries for their agenda…

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Guardian publishes historical fiction about Israel in ‘Letters’ section

Commenting on the UN’s egregious bias against the Jewish state, Abba Eban (who served as Israel’s ambassador to the UN and foreign minister, among other posts) oncequipped: “If Algeria introduced a resolution declaring that the earth was flat and that Israel had flattened it, it would pass by a vote of 164 to 13 with 26 abstentions.”

To this I’d add: If the resolution was introduced today it would likely receive sympathetic coverage in the Guardian.

The latest anti-Israeli communique at the Guardian demonstrates that historical truth plays little if any role in Guardian editors’ decisions regarding which letters to publish.

The following letter, titled ‘UK’s responsibility to the Palestinians“, was published on November 1st and was signed by such sage anti-Zionists, and confirmed one-staters, as Ghada Karmi, Tim Llewellyn, Karl Sabbagh, John Rose, Kamel Hawwash, Naomi Foyle, Mona Baker, Mike Marquesee and Seni Seneviratne.

This thrifty polemic (196 words…

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#BDS is Failing: a continuing series (April 2016)

Here’s the latest installment in our monthly round-up of BDSfails.

(When debating those who contend that BDS is succeeding, consider citing some of these examples.)

Political BDS Fails

• As Livni visits, Swedish FM says she is against BDS

Foreign Minister Margot Wallström in Stockholm has agreed to publicly denounce the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement after a Saturday night meeting with Tzipi Livni. 

Wallstrom has previously made controversial statements against the Jewish state, including accusing Israel the extrajudicial executions.

Livni emphasized to Wallström the importance of her publicly and clearly support  Israel’s need to defend itself, as well as her opposition to boycotts against Israel and the BDS movement – especially during the recent wave of terror.

At the end of the meeting, Wollstrom finally agreed to publicly support Israel’s right to protect itself and oppose BDS. Wallstrom also supported the principle of a two-state solution and…

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BBC ignores UNHRC’s nomination of controversial official

BBC Watch

As was recently noted here, a BBC report from March 25^th on the topic of an anti-Israel resolution adopted by the UN Human Rights Council failed to provide audiences with relevant background information concerning that body’s habitual disproportionate focus on Israel.

At the same session which adopted that resolution the council also appointed a new “Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territories occupied since 1967”. That post is described by UN Watch as:

“…a position that, contrary to the official title, is in fact charged with investigating “Israel’s violations of the principles and bases of international law” — and disregards all human rights violations in the Palestinian territories committed by the Palestinian Authority, Hamas, Islamic Jihad, and others.”

The Canadian foreign minister has apparently called on the UNHRC to reconsider the appointment of Michael Lynk to the six-year post and the impartiality of the new…

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BBC fails to tell the whole story of UNHRC anti-Israel resolution

BBC Watch

An article which appeared on the BBC News website’s Middle East page on March 25^th under the headline “Israel rejects database of settlement-linked firms” pertains to a resolution adopted by the UN Human Rights Council the previous day.

The BBC’s report is notable both for what it does and does not tell readers.

In the former category we see the standard insert which breaches editorial guidelines on impartiality by failing to inform audiences of alternative views to the narrative on ‘international law’ adopted by the BBC.

“Settlements built on territories occupied by Israel in 1967 are considered illegal under international law, but Israel disputes this position.”

We also see employment of the term “Palestinian lands” to describe locations in Jerusalem and Judea & Samaria which, prior to being under Israeli rule, were occupied by Jordan and have never been under the control of a Palestinian entity. Significantly…

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A BBC quotee opines on Brussels terror attacks

BBC Watch

On February 1^st the BBC News website published an article which described a temporary roadblock set up following a terror attack by a member of the Palestinian Authority security forces (which it had not reported at the time) as “collective punishment”.

That allegation included a quote from “Palestinian police spokesman Adnan Damiri”.

Courtesy of Palestinian Media Watch we learn that the same Adnan Damiri had comments to make on the topic of the terror attacks in Brussels on March 22^nd.

“Following the terror attacks in Brussels yesterday, in which at least 30 people were murdered and hundreds were injured, PA Security Forces Spokesman Adnan Al-Damiri wrote in a post on his Facebook page that the US and Europe are the ones who created international terror. He claimed, for example, that Europe and the US are responsible for “exporting Jewish terror to Palestine,” and therefore Europe is directly…

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