BBC report on Gaza sparks anger

BBC Newsround London - Arabstoday BBC Newsround has produced a video report on why Israel and the Palestinians are fighting over Gaza which aired November 21. Having viewed the piece, Caabu - an organisation committed to democracy - complained immediately to the BBC on account of major factual inaccuracies but also a failure to reflect the Palestinian historical narrative within the report. The complaint raised twelve points of factual inaccuracy and political bias including no mention to the conflict before the Second World War, or the refugee crisis following the creation of the state of Israel. The issue of refugees is especially important to understand Gaza since 70 percent of the population are refugees. It says that Israel regained control of the West Bank and Gaza Strip in 1967. Moreover, the report mentions the occupation of the West Bank after the 1967 war and does not mention the effects of the blockade on life in Gaza. Commenting on the video Chris Doyle said: “There is a fundamental obligation on the BBC to produce fair and accurate reporting. In our view this is even more the case when producing programming for children. This report stands in total contradiction to BBC news reports about the history of this conflict. The report should be taken down, a revised version produced and rebroadcast and an apology issued.”