Until recently the BBC only saw fit to report on cross-border fire from Syria into the Golan Heights when Israel fired back. Now it seems not even those incidents merit a mention.
On the evening of April 2nd 2013 a mortar shell fired from Syria landed near Tel Fares and shortly afterwards shots were fired at an IDF patrol near Tel Hazeka. Israel responded with tank fire in the direction of the Syrian outpost from which the shooting came.
The BBC did not report these incidents.
Another recent Syria-related incident not reported by the BBC was the attack on an Al Jazeera news team covering ‘Land Day’ events in the Galilee town of Sakhnin on March 30th.
“A scuffle broke out Saturday during a Land Day procession in Sakhnin. Several dozen protesters who support Syrian President Bashar Assad assaulted an Al-Jazeera reporter and his crew.
The rioters hurled water bottles at the journalists claiming they were fabricating reports about the situation in Syria. The scuffle quickly spread to include other protesters. Three people were lightly injured including a Channel 1 journalist who sustained a minor head injury and was treated at a local clinic.”
In fact, the BBC chose to maintain ‘radio silence’ altogether regarding the annual ‘Land Day’ demonstrations – several of which turned violent. At the Qalandiya checkpoint near Jerusalem the day was marked with stone-throwing by some 150 rioters. On Route 60, near Efrat, a four year-old Israeli boy was injured when the car in which he was travelling was pelted with rocks.
Of course, BBC audiences’ comprehension of the Middle East is not enhanced by selective reporting.