The BBC is deceiving the British public and using its position to manufacture consent for Israel's genocidal assault in Palestine and Lebanon.
On Saturday, October 12, the BBC’s Middle East Correspondent, Lucy Williamson, joined the Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) on a tour of an unspecified village that they were occupying in southern Lebanon. Footage showed leveled civilian homes and infrastructure, a familiar image for those who have been following Israel’s trail of destruction across Gaza, the West Bank, and Lebanon over the past year.
Williamson gave the Israeli military, including one Colonel Yaniv Malka, who also fought in Israel’s failed 2006 invasion, free reign to make claims that provided the justification for their actions in Lebanon. They claimed to have found weapons, including mortars, anti-tank missiles, and mines, inside civilians’ homes; and a house’s garage that was used as an equipment warehouse – all for an alleged October 7-style cross-border operation that Hezbollah was planning.
In response, on Monday, seven BBC Arabic journalists suspended their work for the corporation in protest. Hezbollah also condemned the outlet for its violation of “Lebanese land, sovereignty and… law”, calling on the country’s Ministry of Information to take legal action against the BBC.
This is not the first time that the BBC has been caught up in controversy because of its coverage of the ongoing Israeli war on Palestine and Lebanon. Williamson herself went on another IOF propaganda tour last November, a day after Israel first raided al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City. On that occasion, she was shown fifteen guns, a bullet-proof vest (conveniently with a Hamas logo on it), and military booklets and pamphlets that the Israelis supposedly found within the hospital. She was also presented with laptops that the IOF claimed had information about Israeli hostages held in Gaza – however, she admitted that she was not actually shown any of the content on them.
Rather than questioning any of these claims, or indeed acknowledging that the Israelis may be hiding something by not allowing her to speak to Palestinian doctors or patients, she regurgitated their propaganda unchallenged. (more...)
Generating consent for genocide: The BBC’s complicity in Israel’s crimes in Palestine and Lebanon
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