Another Hamas Turkey branch story avoided by the BBC

Back in August 2014 the BBC managed to avoid telling its audiences about a thwarted coup against the Palestinian Authority engineered by Hamas’ Saleh al Arouri from his base in Turkey. In the same month, al Arouri’s public admission that Hamas had been behind the kidnapping and murder of three Israeli teenagers two months earlier was also not covered by the BBC.BBC brick wall

In November 2014, when the ISA arrested some 30 Hamas operatives in Judea & Samaria, the BBC made only a veiled reference to “Hamas officials based in Turkey” despite the fact that al Arouri was named in the ISA’s report as the organiser and financer of the terror network.

When the BBC reported on the resumption of PA tax transfers in March 2015 it failed to inform audiences of related professional assessments of al Arouri’s role in attempts to increase terrorist activity in Judea & Samaria.

And when a report on Hamas recruitment in Malaysia – which involved sending recruits for training run by Hamas’ branch in Turkey – appeared in May 2015, the BBC ignored that story altogether.

On June 10th the BBC’s favourite Israeli newspaper Ha’aretz reported yet another story concerning Hamas’ Turkey-based branch.

“Ankara has asked a senior member of Hamas’ military wing based in Turkey to cut back on his anti-Israel terrorist activity, due to fears that otherwise, Washington will accuse it of abetting terror.

The request was transmitted to Saleh Aruri by Turkish intelligence, which is well aware of his activities.

Israel deported Aruri from the West Bank five years ago. Today, from his base in Turkey, he commands Hamas’ West Bank division, meaning he is responsible for building the organization’s terrorist infrastructure in the West Bank. His responsibilities include recruiting operatives, transferring money to them and giving them general instructions

Other Hamas operatives from the West Bank also live in Turkey, and Israeli defense officials recently said Hamas was running terrorist training camps in the country, while Turkish authorities turned a blind eye. This accusation apparently spurred the United States to demand explanations from Turkey, and in response, Ankara asked Aruri to lower the profile of his activities. […]

Aruri is not subordinate to Hamas’ military wing in the Gaza Strip and doesn’t take orders from its head, Mohammed Deif. He reports directly to Hamas’ supreme leadership, the Shura Council, and is close to Khaled Meshal, the Qatar-based head of Hamas’ political bureau.”

But if one thought that the story of a group designated by the EU as a terrorist organization running operations from an EU candidate country (which is also a member of NATO) with the full knowledge of its authorities might perhaps spur the BBC’s Turkey correspondent into action – well, obviously one would be mistaken yet again. 

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