A Palestinian jailed for his part in murdering an Israeli man is used as a regular contributor by the BBC’s Arabic channel without his conviction being disclosed. The Telegraph has more.
Ismat Mansour has been interviewed by BBC Arabic at least seven times in the first seven months of the war in Gaza, billed as a “Palestinian political analyst” and “Palestinian author and researcher”.
But critics say BBC Arabic has failed to point out to its audience that Mansour was sentenced to 22 years in jail following the murder of 30-year-old Haim Mizrahi and has since spoken of having “no regrets” over his role in the killing.
Mansour was among 26 Palestinian prisoners freed early from prison by the Israeli authorities in August 2013, as part of a gesture to the Palestinian Authority in peace talks brokered by the U.S.
He had been jailed at 16 after helping two older teenagers stab Mr. Mizrahi to death near the West Bank settlement of Beit El in October 1993, a month after Israel and the PLO signed the Oslo Accords. Mr. Mizrahi’s wife was pregnant at the time.
Though Mansour denied doing the stabbing himself, an Israeli judge found that he held the Israeli down during the stabbing.
Mansour said on his release from prison: “I have no regrets. I was part of the struggle of my people, I don’t reconsider my contribution.”
A year after his release, he told an Israeli interviewer: “That person [the victim] is a settler, he is on my land and it is not his place.
“I don’t feel sorry. Let’s say that today I would not have done the same, but I don’t regret what had happened, either. I did something that is good for everyone. This promotes peace.”
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