The removed BBC documentary focused on the plight of Palestinian children [Getty]
Advocates for Palestinian rights have strongly condemned the BBC for its apology over the documentary ‘Gaza: How to Survive a War Zone’, which has now been removed from its iPlayer online platform.
The publicly owned UK broadcaster is now claiming that there were “serious flaws” in its production.
The programme, which showed the harrowing experiences of children living in Gaza under Israel’s brutal military assault, was axed after pressure from pro-Israeli groups.
A campaign was launched against the film, focusing particularly on Abdullah Al-Yazouri, a 14-year-old featured in the documentary, whose father, Ayman Al-Yazouri, served as deputy agriculture minister in the Gaza government.
Following the criticism, the BBC’s board issued a statement acknowledging the “significant and damaging” errors after an internal review.
The corporation’s spokesperson said: “Some of these mistakes were made by the production company, and some by the BBC; all of them are unacceptable. BBC News takes full responsibility for these and the impact that these have had on the Corporation’s reputation. We apologise for this.”
The documentary was then removed from the iPlayer platform as part of additional “due diligence” checks prompted by the pro-Israeli pressure.
In response to the BBC’s actions, prominent voices in the Palestinian solidarity movement expressed outrage on Friday. Artists for Palestine UK criticised the BBC for succumbing to a “politicised campaign” aimed at discrediting the film, which they argue shed light on the brutal realities faced by Gaza’s children.
They added: “We are appalled that the BBC has chosen to give credence to a politicised campaign that sought to discredit a documentary about children’s experiences of unspeakable Israeli military violence, because one child’s father was deputy agriculture minister in Gaza.
“The world has seen images of traumatised and emaciated Palestinian captives emerging from Israeli jails, some with limbs amputated. Rather than adequately reporting on these horrors, the BBC is instead removing a documentary about children in Gaza because of misleading claims about the identity of one child’s parent.”
BBC faces legal complaint over impartiality
On the same day the International Centre of Justice for Palestinians launched a formal complaint against the BBC for removing the programme, accusing the corporation of “suppressing the testimony of Palestinians” and breaching impartiality.
ICJP’s Director Tayab Ali, who is also Head of International Law at Bindmans LLP, claimed that the decision to remove the documentary “raises serious concerns about potential breaches of the BBC’s legal, regulatory, and ethical obligations under its Royal Charter, Editorial Guidelines, and Ofcom’s Broadcasting Code”, likely to impact upon public trust and media integrity.
The complaint comes after 500 media professionals signed an open letter denouncing the BBC’s decision. The letter, which was co-signed by prominent figures such as Gary Lineker, Khalid Abdalla, and Miriam Margolyes, condemned the BBC’s actions as “racist” and “dehumanising.”
The removal of the documentary comes amid growing international concern over Israel’s treatment of Palestinians in Gaza, which is facing accusations of genocide.
The death toll from the Gaza War has now reached 61,707, with the bodies of thousands of victims being discovered under the rubble of homes and buildings destroyed in Israeli airstrikes.
The New Arab contacted the BBC to provide comment on the matter.
