As we are well aware, the BBC’s presentation of the subject of the Middle East Peace Process focuses on the repeated promotion of selected “Core Issues” whilst completely ignoring numerous no less important ones.
Hence it is hardly surprising that the news that hundreds of PFLP supporters turned out on the streets of Ramallah on September 7th to protest against talks with Israel (not for the first time) received no coverage whatsoever on the BBC News website’s Middle East page.
“At least 1,000 people marched towards the presidential headquarters in the Muqata chanting slogans against negotiations.
“We are against the negotiations because they don’t serve the interests of the Palestinian people,” PFLP leader Abdulrahim Malouh told Ma’an.
“We remain with our people’s right to return, independence, and self-determination,” he added, calling for national unity.
Senior PFLP official Khalida Jarrar said the demonstration aimed to send a message that the PLO must stop negotiations.
“We came to deliver a political voice dismissive of the negotiations,” she said.”
Likewise, there has been no BBC coverage of the fact that the Palestinian Authority recently announced plans to award what it terms ‘dignified life grants’ to released prisoners mostly convicted of acts of terrorism.
“The Palestinian Authority has announced that it plans to give 5,000 released security prisoners who served more than 5 years in Israeli prisons a Dignified Life Grant. The Head of the Statistics Department of the Ministry of Prisoners’ Affairs, Abd Al-Nasser Farwaneh, said that the amount distributed would be “15 million American dollars.” “
That sum is above and beyond the 6% of its budget spent by the Palestinian Authority on paying monthly salaries to convicted terrorists still held in Israeli prisons and their families. The recent decision includes the 26 prisoners released by Israel last month as a ‘goodwill gesture’ to encourage the recommencement of talks.
The BBC cannot claim that one of its priorities is to “build a global understanding of international issues” when it consistently avoids informing its audiences of factors influencing the outcome of the ongoing talks such as public opposition to them on the Palestinian street and the official PA glorification of terrorism which includes financial rewards to those convicted of terrorist acts.