BBC News coverage of terrorism in Israel – May 2018

Our monthly round-up of the BBC News website's coverage of terrorism against Israelis.

The Israel Security Agency’s report on terror attacks (Hebrew) during May 2018 shows that throughout the month a total of 365 incidents took place: 139 in Judea & Samaria, 34 in Jerusalem and 192 in the Gaza Strip/Sinai sector.

In Judea & Samaria and Jerusalem the agency recorded 153 attacks with petrol bombs, eleven attacks using improvised explosive devices (IEDs), four shooting attacks, four arson attacks and one attack with a stone slab. Attacks recorded in the Gaza Strip sector included 118 attacks with petrol bombs, twelve shooting attacks, 12 attacks using IEDs, one grenade attack and two arson attacks. Forty-five separate incidents of projectile fire were recorded (41 involving rockets and 4 involving mortars) with 188 launches.

One soldier – Staff Sgt Ronen Lubarsky – died two days after being critically injured when a marble slab was thrown at his head on May 24th. The BBC News website did not produce any reporting at all on that incident or on an earlier one in which one member of the security forces was wounded in an IED/stoning attack on May 9th in Abu Dis. Three additional members of the security forces and one civilian were wounded by mortar fire from the Gaza Strip on May 29th with the BBC mentioning three of those four injuries.

Visitors to the BBC News website saw no reporting at all on any of the incidents in Jerusalem and Judea & Samaria.

The website’s coverage of the incidents in the Gaza Strip sector during May is listed below. [emphasis added]

Kerem Shalom crossing May 11. Photo: IDF Spokesperson

May 5th: “Gaza explosion leaves six Palestinians dead

“On Saturday, Israel accused Hamas of setting fire to gas supplies and damaging crossing points where humanitarian supplies are brought into Gaza.”

May 14th: “Gaza clashes: 52 Palestinians killed on deadliest day since 2014

“Palestinians hurled stones and incendiary devices while the Israeli military used snipers, as black smoke poured from burning tyres. […]

The Israeli military said it had killed three people trying to plant explosives near the security fence in Rafah. Aircraft and tanks had also targeted military positions belonging to Hamas in the northern Gaza Strip, it said.”

May 15th: “Gaza’s deadliest day of violence in years

“They burned tyres, and threw stones and incendiary devices.”

[Israeli spokesman] “…people throwing mortars, and bombs, and placing IEDs…”

May 15th: “Gaza begins to bury its dead after deadliest day in years

“Palestinian protesters have hurled stones and incendiary devices and approached the border fence, which Israel has declared a no-go zone, on foot.”

May 15th: “Gaza violence: Israelis and Palestinians in fierce exchanges at UN

No mention of Palestinian actions.

May 15th: “May urges ‘greater restraint’ by Israel after Gaza violence

“Palestinians hurled stones and incendiary devices and approached the border fence.” 

May 17th: “Did Israel use excessive force at Gaza protests?

“Despite the warnings, thousands of Palestinians approached the fence during the protests. A number threw stones and Molotov cocktails at Israeli soldiers deployed on the Israeli side of the border, and flew kites laden with petrol soaked material intended to start fires on Israeli territory. […]

The [Israeli] military has said it also foiled a number of “terrorist attacks” orchestrated by Hamas during the protests and killed people trying to plant bombs at the fence or break through it.”

May 18th: “Israel’s Gaza response ‘wholly disproportionate’ – UN rights chief

“While most Palestinians have demonstrated at a distance from the border, others threw rocks and incendiary devices towards the fence and tried to break through.”

May 22nd: “Palestinians demand full ICC investigation into ‘Israeli war crimes’

No mention of Palestinian actions

May 29th: “Israel strikes Gaza after heaviest mortar barrage in years

“In Israel, an empty kindergarten was hit when militants fired more than 30 mortars earlier in the day. […]

The Israeli military said the biggest volley of mortar shells was fired at several sites in Israel in the early hours, with most intercepted by the Iron Dome anti-missile defence system. […]

More shells were launched in subsequent attacks, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said. Three Israelis were wounded, media reports said. […]

Hours earlier, machine-gun fire from Gaza hit houses and vehicles in the Israeli border town of Sderot, though without causing injuries, the IDF said. […]

A member of Hamas was killed on Monday after Israeli soldiers caught a group attempting to breach the border and carry out an attack, while on Sunday three members of Islamic Jihad were killed after placing an explosive device on the border fence, the IDF said.”

May 31st: “Gaza violence: Red Cross sends surgeons ‘to help health crisis’

“On Tuesday, Israel attacked militant sites in Gaza after it came under a heavy barrage of mortar and rocket fire.”

As can be seen, in six of the BBC’s articles audiences were told of stone-throwing (which is not recorded by the ISA) and incendiary devices – i.e. firebombs – with one mention of incendiary kites. The only mentions of explosive devices (IEDs), shooting and arson attacks were found in quotes or descriptions of statements from the IDF/Israel. BBC audiences were given an account of the mortar and rocket attacks on May 29th/30th which did not reflect the full number of projectiles launched.

Even if we count the six BBC references to firebombs as covering the full amount of attacks with such devices, count the BBC’s presentation of “more than” 30 mortar attacks as portraying the full number of projectiles fired and include the four mentions of IEDs, one reference to “machine gun fire” and one mention of an arson attack, we still see that more attacks went unreported than reported and that at the very most, BBC audiences saw coverage of 46.3% of the terrorism that took place during May.

Since the beginning of 2018 the BBC has at best reported 18% of the terror attacks that have taken place and 83.3% of the resulting fatalities.

Related Articles:

BBC News website coverage of Gaza terrorists’ mortar attacks

BBC News website coverage of May 14 Gaza rioting

More ‘Great Return March’ arson and ambitions ignored by BBC News

BBC News coverage of terrorism in Israel – April 2018

 

 

 

 

 

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