Throughout the month of August 2019, twenty-five written or filmed reports relating to Israel and/or the Palestinians appeared on the BBC News website’s ‘Middle East’ page, some of which also appeared on other pages and three of which were carried over from the previous month.
(dates indicate the time period during which the item was available on the ‘Middle East’ page)
Three reports concerned terrorist incidents:
Israel hunts killer of off-duty soldier in West Bank (8/8/19 to 14/8/19) discussed here and here
West Bank bomb blast kills 17-year-old Israeli girl (23/8/19 to 25/8/19)
Israeli teenage girl killed in West Bank bomb attack (23/8/19 to 27/8/19) discussed here
Five reports concerned alleged or confirmed external security issues:
Iraq paramilitary force blames US and Israel for mystery blasts (21/8/19 to 22/8/19) discussed here
Iraq paramilitary chief plays down allegation against US (22/8/19 to 26/8/19)
Israel says it struck Iranian ‘killer drone’ sites in Syria (25/8/19 to 27/8/19) discussed here
‘Israeli strikes’ target Palestinian group in Lebanon (26/8/19) discussed here
Netanyahu: Israel will defend itself ‘by any means necessary’ (27/8/19 to 28/8/19)
Four items related to political/diplomatic aspects of the Arab-Israeli conflict, including two reports about alleged Israeli spies in Iran.
‘Iran tortured me into confessing to be an Israeli spy’ Jiyar Gol (13/8/19 to present)
Israel bars Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib from visiting (15/8/19 to 16/8/19) discussed here
Rashida Tlaib rejects ‘humanitarian’ W Bank visit (16/8/19 to 20/8/19) discussed here
Iran ‘convicts British-Iranian dual national of spying for Israel’ (27/8/29 to 30/8/19)
Three items concerned history/archaeology:
Zionism: A very brief history BBC Ideas (25/7/19 to 7/8/29) discussed here
Franz Kafka papers lost in Europe but reunited in Jerusalem (7/8/19 to 13/8/19)
Crusader winery found under house in Israel BBC Monitoring (14/8/19 to 15/8/19)
Two reports – one of which was carried over from the previous month – concerned Palestinian social and political affairs:
Talking about sex no longer so taboo in the Arab world Shereen El Feki (17/7/19 to 1/8/19)
Gaza explosions: ‘Suicide bombers’ kill three police officers (28/8/19 to 1/9/19)
Of eight reports concerning Israeli affairs, one concerned planning:
Israel backs West Bank homes for settlers and Palestinians (31/7/19 to 3/8/19) discussed here
Three reports concerned legal/criminal cases, of which two concerned a case in Cyprus in which Israelis had been released without charge the previous month, yet the BBC continued to publish reports on the website’s ‘Middle East’ page.
Ayia Napa: ‘False rape claim’ case adjourned after lawyer resigns (7/8/19 to 13/8/19)
Israeli billionaire Beny Steinmetz to be tried over ‘Guinea bribes’ (13/8/19 to 15/8/19)
British woman pleads not guilty to Cyprus ‘false rape claims’ (27/8/19 to 28/8/19)
One report concerned Palestinian detainees:
Palestinian conflict: Diaries of childhood in Israeli military detention Megha Mohan/Yusef Eldin (28/8/19 to present) discussed here
One report concerned health:
Israeli flight attendant dies from measles (13/8/19 to 15/8/19)
Two reports related to a ‘Netflix’ film:
Red Sea Diving Resort: The holiday village run by spies Raffi Berg originally published April 2018 (1/8/19 to 12/8/19)
Netflix streams film of Ethiopian Jews escaping war Emmanuel Igunza (1/8/19 to 4/8/19)
The BBC News website continues its practice of reporting Israeli affairs far more extensively than it does internal Palestinian affairs with visitors having seen nearly seven times more coverage of the former since the beginning of the year.
Related Articles:
Summary of BBC News website portrayal of Israel and the Palestinians – July 2019
Summary of BBC News website portrayal of Israel and the Palestinians – June 2019
Summary of BBC News website portrayal of Israel and the Palestinians – May 2019
Summary of BBC News website portrayal of Israel and the Palestinians – April 2019
Summary of BBC News website portrayal of Israel and the Palestinians – March 2019
Summary of BBC News website portrayal of Israel and the Palestinians – February 2019
Summary of BBC News website portrayal of Israel and the Palestinians – January 2019
