BBC
BIAS ON PALESTINE REPORTING
Islamic Human Rights Commission
Urgent Alert
6 August 2002
The following URL on the BBC website titled Israels
History of Bomb Blasts gives a detailed account of some
of the most deadly Palestinian bomb attacks against Israelis
since September 2000.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_easet/1197051.stm
The BBC in compiling this list has failed to mention even the death
of one of the 1,694 Palestinians, approximately one fifth of them
children who have so far died since September 2000. Whilst
the BBC have taken care to also record the injuries sustained by
Israelis, again not one of the 20,000 Palestinians injured, since
the beginning of the second Intifada by bullet fire, tear gas, live
ammunition, shrapnel from rockets and tank shells have been mentioned.
The compilation of this report if attempting to portray an unbiased
account should have mentioned the Palestinian casualties.
This failure to do so can only lead to the conclusion that a deliberate
attempt has yet again been made by the BBC to portray the Palestinians
as the cause of the current Middle East crises.
IHRC are encouraging all campaigners to contact the BBC at info@bbc.co.uk
and express their deep concern over the continued
biased coverage of the Palestinian conflict.
Please use the model letter below and forward your replies to IHRC.
Dear Sir / Madm
Having visited your website, I am extremely disappointed
with your report titled Israels History of Bomb
Blasts, at http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_easet/1197051.stm
Your report focuses solely on attacks made on Israelis since
September 2000, whilst not mentioning once the repeated Israeli
incursions into and attacks on Palestinian territories which
have contributed to the deaths of almost 1,700 Palestinians
since September 2000. The report again focuses on the
injuries sustained by Israelis whilst not mentioning any of
the 20,000 Palestinians who have been hit by deliberate Israeli
fire within the same period.
Previous BBC reports have equated the struggle made by the
Palestinians against continued illegal occupation consisting
of daily indiscriminate gunfire, arbitrary detention of civilians,
demolition of homes and the denial of access to medical personnel.
This BBC report has gone one step further in ignoring altogether
the much greater violence perpetrated by Israel during the
last 50 years against both the Palestinian and Lebanese civilian
populations.
I urge you to report accurately and fairly on the deaths
and injuries suffered by Palestinians, if not your continued
stance at biased reporting only leads one to believe you are
happy to be a party to the continued barbaric illegal occupation.
Yours sincerely
[Name]
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Related
Stories:
The BBC seem to be following CNN in this:
CNN has published on its web site the names/pictures/bio of every
single Israeli killed over the past two years, and a "special
report" on Israeli victims of terror (with no mention of Palestinian
victims):
http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/2002/terror.victims/page1.html
Read
news story on this (Palestine Media Watch Alert- CNN's blatant
double standards: Palestinian victims do not get the same attention
as Israeli victims June 24 2002)
Also Associated Press are guilty of something similar, see:
Call
for balanced reporting by Associated Press
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