The BBC has been accused of pushing “jaw-dropping propaganda” for Hamas by downplaying the brutal treatment of Israeli hostages in a “puff piece” for the terror group’s hostage unit. The Telegraph has the story.
The Telegraph can reveal that BBC Arabic has now been forced to edit a video clip featuring the “shadow unit” of Hamas’s Al-Qassam Brigade, which it described as “guarding” kidnapped Israeli hostages.
The video featured a scene of female Israeli hostages who were reported to “thank” their captors for the treatment they received.
BBC Arabic is already facing claims it has given a platform to hate and terror. Kemi Badenoch, the Conservative Party leader, said it was “fomenting extremism and misleading audiences”.
Her comments came after the Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting and Analysis (Camera) published a 33-page report claiming BBC Arabic was providing a “platform to terrorists”. …
In a video published at the end of January, BBC Arabic described the Al-Qassam Brigade as “responsible for securing the hostages” and in the video militants were said to be “guarding the Israeli hostages”. …
The video from January 30th said that Al-Qassam had shown footage of “soldiers as they thank the unit’s personnel for the ‘good treatment’ while in custody”.
The broadcaster later updated the report to remove the section which claimed hostages had received good treatment and added evidence of Hamas abuse of those held after a complaint from Camera. …
Danny Cohen, the former director of BBC Television, described the latest concerns over the organisation’s reporting of the conflict as propaganda for the terror group.
“This is a jaw-dropping piece of propaganda – a puff piece on war criminals who have executed, starved, beaten and sexually assaulted the hostages that Hamas kidnapped on October 7th,” Mr Cohen said.
“The shadow unit are not ‘guards’ tasked with keeping hostages safe, they are monstrous terrorists who have committed unspeakable crimes.”
Worth reading in full.
To join in with the discussion please make a donation to The Daily Sceptic.
Profanity and abuse will be removed and may lead to a permanent ban.