The BBC has apologized for its headline following the terror attack in Jerusalem last week, in which it portrayed the three Palestinian assailants as victims, while neglecting to mention the Israeli police woman that had been targeted and killed just before.
The leading British news outlet’s headline on its website following the stabbing death of Border Police officer Hadas Malka, 23, read: “Three Palestinians killed after deadly stabbing in Jerusalem.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reportedly instructed Foreign Ministry Director General Yuval Rotem to strongly protest the BBC coverage, which the Israeli embassy in London promptly did.
The World Jewish Congress and other Jewish organizations also took the station to task on social media over the headline, which seemed to represent a significantly different situation than that which unfolded on the ground.
An Israeli police officer was brutally stabbed yesterday in Jerusalem. BBC seems to see a different reality. What's wrong with this tweet? pic.twitter.com/bJnOmW0VXP
— (((WJC))) (@WorldJewishCong) June 17, 2017
BBC corrected the headline over the weekend to read, “Israeli policewoman stabbed to death in Jerusalem.”
In a statement explaining the retraction of its original headline, the BBC said that it accepted that it “did not appropriately reflect the nature of the events” and that while “there was no intention to mislead our audiences, we regret any offense caused.”
Israeli Ambassador to the UK, Yuval Rotem, tweeted following the retraction: “@BBCWorld admits mistake, but such mistakes happen way too often. #BBC consumers beware.”
BBC reporters have posted several contentious headlines regarding circumstances in Israel over the last several years. The station has previously claimed that there was “no evidence” of Hamas using human shields in Gaza, on another occasion asked former Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni is she would consider her parents - members of the pre-state Jewish underground - to be terrorists, and claimed that Israel was “not under threat by Iran.”
On Sunday, Prime Minister Netanyahu also blasted Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas [Abu Mazen] for his Fatah movement’s reaction to Malka’s murder.
"Instead of condemning the attack, Fatah – which is headed by Abu Mazen issued a statement in which it condemns the Border Police fighters who killed the terrorists, and describes the murderers as heroes.
"It seems that mendacity and brazen gall know no bounds. Of course, the Palestinian Authority is refusing to condemn the murder and the same Authority will now pay financial compensation to the murderers' families.
"I call on the countries of the world to condemn both the murder and those who praise it, and demand the immediate cessation of Palestinian Authority payments to the families of terrorists, something that only encourages terror," Netanyahu said.
