Peter Reynolds

Devastation in the Omar Al-Mukhtar neighbourhood in Gaza after another Israeli air strike.

I wish to complain about the appalling pro-Israel bias in current news coverage.  Perhaps best illustrated by repeated use of the phrase “Palestinian militants”, which suggest that they ‘favour confrontational or violent methods in support of a political or social cause’ (Oxford Languages).  This is dreadfully one-sided.

Palestine is occupied by force by Israel. According to Human Rights Watch, Israel enforces a policy of apartheid, according to international law ‘a crime against humanity in which one racial group dominates another through intentional, systematic and inhumane acts of oppression.’

It is not Palestinians that are militant, it is the Israeli government.  Palestine acts in self-defence against a brutal, violent occupying force.

BBC News also constantly refers to Israel ‘defending itself’ against Palestinian rockets.  The rockets are launched in self-defence in response to Israeli aggression.  They are a pitiful and courageous response to one of the world’s most technologically advanced armies.  It is quite literally fireworks and catapults against F16s, tanks and guided missile systems.

I could add many more specifics about the bias in BBC coverage. Our political leaders are engaged in the same disinformation, with James Cleverley MP today referring only to ‘Israel defending itself’ and ‘Hamas must stop launching rockets’.  I expect the BBC to report truth, not propaganda and while it must report Cleverley’s deceitful words, it must explain how one-sided they are.