On January 1st the BBC News website published a report titled “Palestinian girl charged after slapping soldier on video“.
Parts of that report are recycled from a BBC News website article concerning the arrest of Ahed Tamimi that was published on December 19th 2017. Four links that appeared in that previous report – a Facebook post by her father, an article from the notoriously partisan and inaccurate Al Jazeera quoting her aunt, one Ynet report quoting her father and a second Ynet report relating to a previous incident in which she was involved – are promoted once again.
While – in contrast to the previous report – this one does clarify that Ahed Tamimi’s mother Nariman filmed and disseminated the footage of her daughter assaulting an Israeli soldier, the full extent of the Tamimi family’s activities – including the organisation of weekly rioting – is once again not revealed to BBC audiences.
Regarding the actual indictment against Ahed Tamimi, the article states:
“Israeli authorities have charged a Palestinian teenager with assault after a video of her hitting and pushing Israeli soldiers went viral. […]
She faces 12 charges including aggravated assault and throwing stones.
But the family say they were involved in legitimate resistance during protests in the occupied West Bank.”
Readers are not informed that – as reported by the Times of Israel – she has also been charged with incitement.
“Among the charges against Ahed were aggravated assault of a soldier, threatening a soldier, preventing soldiers from carrying out their duties, incitement, disturbing the public peace and stone throwing.
Regarding the incitement charge, the MAG [Military Attorney General] cited a statement given by Ahed to her mother, who was filming the December 15 incident on Facebook Live. Immediately following the squabble, Nariman asked her daughter what kind of message she wanted to convey to viewers.
“I hope that everyone will take part in the demonstrations as this is the only means to achieve the result,” she said. “Our strength is in our stones, and I hope that the world will unite to liberate Palestine, because [Donald] Trump made his declaration and [the Americans] need to take responsibility for any response that comes from us,” Ahed added, apparently referring to the US president’s decision last month to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.
“Whether it is stabbings or suicide bombings or throwing stones, everyone must do his part and we must unite in order for our message to be heard that we want to liberate Palestine,” she concluded.
The MAG said the Facebook Live stream earned “thousands of views” and “dozens of likes.”” [emphasis added]
Notably, while the BBC did elect to amplify the Tamimi family’s claim of “legitimate resistance” and to inform its audiences that “many Palestinians have hailed Tamimi as a hero of the resistance to Israeli occupation”, it refrained from telling them of her support for terrorism and advocacy of the murder of Israelis.
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BBC News website promotes the Tamimi clan again
