Selective BBC reporting on cross-border incidents in the Golan

As previously noted here not long ago, the BBC’s selective reporting on the subject of the growing number of cross-border incidents along the Israeli-Syrian frontier in the Golan Heights is not as erratic as it may at first seem. 
Shelling and shooting into Israel, such as the incident at Alonei HaBashan in late February or the one at Ramat Magshimim in early March, received no attention from the BBC. On March 23rd shots were fired at an Israeli patrol along the border in the late evening. That incident was also not initially reported by the BBC. 
On Sunday, March 24th, another incident occurred near Tel Fares, and this time the IDF responded. That response prompted the appearance of a short report  on the BBC News website in which it was seen fit to remind readers twice that “Israel seized the Golan Heights during the 1967 war” and “Israel has occupied the Golan Heights since the 1967 war”.

Golan sunday

The fact that the BBC apparently elects to report only on incidents to which Israel responds means that BBC audiences are receiving a partial picture of the situation along that border and – as has similarly been the case with the BBC’s selective reporting of incidents along the border with the Gaza Strip – that crucial context is eliminated from audience understanding. 

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