The BBC has been attacked by MPs from across parties and other public figures for its coverage of the Hamas terrorist assaults on Israel.
Hamas terrorists have slaughtered hundreds of Israelis going door to door murdering civilians and dragging people out of their cars as well as raping women and children before parading dead bodies through Gaza to cheering crowds in a surprise attack.
But the BBC has refused to refer to them as “terrorists”, instead calling them “fighters” and “militants.”
Critics have accused the corporation of deliberately playing down the atrocities and stoking up anger against Israel as it hit back seeking to defend itself after the terror group in effect declared war.
The coverage has led to claims that the BBC is “anti-Semitic” and “applies double standards” regarding Israel while “legitimising terrorists”.
Former David Cameron adviser Phillip Blond, the director of the think tank ResPublica, pointed out that Hamas is a “proscribed terrorist organisation.”
He said the attack on Israel “is the equivalent of 9/11 in New York, 7/7 in London and the 2015 attack in Paris.”
Mr Blond went on: “Mainstream public broadcasters in the UK, especially the BBC, seem to apply double standards when it comes to attacks on Israel which are not treated for what they are – terrorism.”
He said using the words “militant” and “fighter” only “gives legitimacy to those perpetrating these atrocities.”
He added: This approach smacks of institutional anti-Semitism and is an approach that betrays the founding values and mission of public broadcasters.”
The issue has also been highlighted in the Jewish Chronicle who reported that Marie van der Zyl, President of the Board of Deputies has asked the BBC to stop giving terrorists in Hamas “a false equivalence”.
But the BBC rejected her appeal.
Ms van der Zyl has approached Culture Secretary Lucy Frazer to ask the government to review guidelines and also flagged up a similar issue with Channel 4.
Steve McCabe MP, the chair of Labour Friends of Israel, told the Jewish Chronicle: “The BBC must cover the outrageous and horrible events in Israel in an appropriate and respectful manner. Those who defend or justify terror attacks should not be given a platform to propagate their hatred on our public service broadcaster.”
Alicia Kearns, Conservative chairwoman of the Commons Foreign Affairs Committee, added: “There is never any legitimacy or defence for the rape and murder of civilians.
“Any suggestion that the terrorist group Hamas is not a terrorist group, or that their actions were not those of terrorists, is demeaning to the memory of those who lives they have irreparably harmed and stolen.”
Even Labour Shadow Foreign Secretary David Lammy insisted at the party conference in Liverpool when asked about the BBC coverage: “Hamas is a proscribed terrorist organisation. I am a lawyer by training and I don’t mince my words. They are terrorists not fighters or militants.”
Express.co.uk has asked the BBC for a comment.
A BBC spokesman told the Jewish Chronicle: “We reported the Hamas attacks and the response by Israel in line with the BBC’s Editorial Guidelines. We have included contributors who have condemned the attackers as terrorists and we have reported that Hamas is designated as a terrorist group by many Western governments, including the UK.
“While an interviewee who made comments on the Warsaw Ghetto was robustly challenged on air, we agree his comments were offensive and we don’t intend to use him again.”
