BBC attributes rioting on Gaza border to ‘tensions’ caused by Israeli response to missile fire

On January 24th a report titled “Israeli troops shoot dead Palestinian in north Gaza” appeared on the Middle East page of the BBC News website. 

Gaza shooting

At the end of the short report, which relates to the unfortunate outcome of an incident instigated by rioters near the border fence on the same day, readers are informed that:

“Tensions have been high since an Israeli air strike on Wednesday killed two Palestinians in northern Gaza.

Israel said the strike had targeted a militant who was behind several rocket attacks, including one after former Prime Minister Ariel Sharon’s funeral last week.”

The implication that the incident which is the subject of the report is the outcome of an increase in “tensions” due to the strike on two terrorists a few days previously does not make it clear to audiences that there have been numerous incidents of rioting in that area and others – particularly on Fridays – since long before the strike on Ahmad Za’anin on January 22nd. For example, the BBC itself reported on similar incidents on January 3rd and on December 20th. Additionally, that implication erases from the picture the undertaking by Hamas under the terms of the ceasefire agreement of November 2012 to prevent attacks both on the border and by missile fire.

Likewise, the claim made in that statement airbrushes the all-important context of the numerous missile attacks launched from the Gaza Strip against Israeli civilian targets since the beginning of the year (which averaged around one a day during the three weeks before the strike on Za’anin), the majority of which have not been reported by the BBC. 

Related Articles:

Missile attacks on Ashkelon – BBC leads with Israeli response

BBC’s selective, context-free reporting from the Gaza Strip continues

BBC’s Knell continues the downplaying of terror from the Gaza Strip

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