You resigned from the BBC because of its coverage of Palestine. Can you tell us how it happened?
After the start of the Gaza war, there were reservations about how the incident was handled, especially regarding the use of concepts and fieldwork methods in English-speaking services. An article published on the website on October 15 and 16 suggested the possibility of tunnels under hospitals. However, less than twentyfour hours later, Al-Mamadani Hospital was bombed. On October 18, we received a statement from the BBC’s Board of Directors published in the British press. The statement asserted that Hamas was killing innocent Israelis and, in a way, emphasized the impact of those horrific scenes. I considered this as an official stance of the institution openly favoring the Israeli side, leading me to submit my resignation.
How do you assess the Western media’s perspective on the events in Palestine?
Particularly in this conflict, one can easily notice a media hysteria, even without being a media expert. There is a clear tendency to dehumanize the Palestinian people.
Analyzing various statements, a decline in criticism of Israel becomes evident. Take, for instance, United Nations SecretaryGeneral Antonio Guterres, who condemned the October 7 attacks but simultaneously mentioned that these attacks did not occur in a vacuum. There seems to be a trend of divorcing events from their broader context, as if the conflict erupted on October 7. However, the reality is a longstanding occupation spanning more than seventy years. There is a noticeable reluctance to address the legal status of the occupied territories, be it Gaza, the West Bank, or Jerusalem. A peculiar coalition avoiding a direct confrontation with the root causes of this conflict…
What impact do you anticipate from the ruling in The Hague?
I believe the primary issue lies in the occupation, accompanied by various pressures sustaining it. This situation has led to war crimes and crimes against humanity, which are not new occurrences. Despite committing these crimes, Israel remains unpunished. This is a dangerous situation and prolongs the conflict.
Dozens of resolutions condemning Israel have been issued by many organizations affiliated with the United Nations. [However], Israel has not implemented these resolutions and is not expected to do so.
For example, regarding the targeting of journalists; a report by the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists, published a year ago, implicated Israel directly in the killing of 18 journalists. However, none of the killers have been brought to justice.
