On October 22nd 2013 a report titled “Wanted Palestinian militant killed in West Bank raid” appeared on the Middle East page of the BBC News website. The article has undergone some changes since its initial publication.
Relating to the death of Palestinian Islamic Jihad member Mohammad Assi who was killed during a firefight with Israeli soldiers on the morning of the same day, the article’s title and opening paragraph both use the BBC’s standard euphemistic description of members of Palestinian terrorist organizations.
“A Palestinian militant has been shot dead by Israeli troops in the West Bank, the Israeli army has said.” [emphasis added]
The rest of the report is reasonable, describing the incident itself and the reason behind the attempt to arrest Assi.
“Mohammad Assi, a member of Islamic Jihad, was killed during a gunfight near the village of Bilin, army spokesman Lt Col Peter Lerner said.
Assi reportedly exchanged fire for several hours with the soldiers from a cave after escaping an arrest raid.
He was suspected of planning a bomb attack on a bus in Tel Aviv on 21 November 2012 that injured 29 people.”
A spelling mistake appears at the end of the seventh paragraph.
However, two later developments have not been added to the BBC report.
In addition to the PIJ statement claiming Assi as one of its members, Hamas also claimed him as a member of its ‘al Qassam’ brigades on its website.
Hamas also released a statement claiming responsibility for the November 21st 2102 terror attack on a bus in Tel Aviv.
So here’s a question: how many internationally recognized terror organisations have to claim a person as one of their members before the BBC will stop euphemistically describing him as a “militant”?
