Throughout the month of December 2021, twenty-three written or filmed reports relating to Israel and/or the Palestinians appeared on the BBC News website’s ‘Middle East’ page, some of which were also published on other pages and four of which were carried over from the previous month.
(dates in brackets indicate the time period during which the item was available on the ‘Middle East’ page)
Two reports concerned terrorism:
Israeli PM vows to catch W Bank ambush killers (17/12/21 to 19/12/21) discussed here
West Bank ambush suspects captured, Israel says (19/12/21 to 21/12/21)
Four items – one of which was carried over from the previous month, related to regional security issues:
Iran nuclear programme: Threat of Israeli strike grows Yolande Knell (23/11/21 to 28/11/21 and 2/12/21 to 13/12/21)
Israel PM: Nuclear talks must end over Iran ‘blackmail’ tactics (2/12/21 to 7/12/21)
Syria blames Israel for rare air strike on main port of Latakia (7/12/21 to 9/12/21)
Israeli Prime Minister Bennett in first trip to UAE as Iran threat looms (13/12/21 to 20/12/21)
Two items had a historical theme:
In pictures: Israel hands seized relics to Egypt (9/12/21 to 29/12/21)
Roman-era ‘Good Shepherd’ ring found off Israel in ancient shipwreck (22/12/21 to 28/12/21)
One report carried over from the previous month concerned disability access issues:
COP26: Boris Johnson apologises to Israeli minister Karine Elharrar dated 2/11 (16/11/21 to 1/12/21)
One item can be classified as miscellaneous:
Donald Trump uses expletive to attack ex-ally Benjamin Netanyahu (10/12/21 to 19/21/21)
Of thirteen items relating to Israeli affairs, one concerned a custody case:
Eitan Biran: Cable car survivor returned to Italy after custody battle (4/12/21 to 7/21/21)
One item related to domestic security:
The Palestinian jailbreak that rocked Israel Tom Bateman (6/12/21 to present) discussed here
Five items, two of which were carried over from November, concerned the Corona pandemic:
New variant detected in Israel – local media (26/11/21 to 2/12/21)
Covid: Israel to impose travel ban for foreigners over new variant (28/11/21 to 3/12/21)
Israel to impose travel ban on the UK Gidi Kleiman (16/12/21 to 20/12/21)
Fifth wave has begun in Israel – PM (20/12/21 to 22/12/21)
Covid-19: Israel plans to give fourth dose of vaccine to over-60s (22/12/21 to 29/12/21)
One report related to an outbreak of Avian ‘flu:
Israel tries to contain avian flu outbreak after 5,000 wild cranes die (28/12/21 to present)
One report concerned Christians:
Israel rejects ‘alarm call’ by Christian leaders in Jerusalem (21/12/21 to 26/12/21) discussed here
One report related to the Ethiopian community:
‘I’m Jewish and black – where do I fit in?’ Nadine Batchelor-Hunt (27/12/21 to 31/12/21) discussed here
Two items were about a celebrity:
Israeli ‘psychic’ Uri Geller still baffling fans at 75 Yolande Knell (26/12/21 to present)
Uri Geller: The celebrity who owes his success to spoons Yolande Knell (26/12/21 to present)
One item concerned the cost of living:
Tel Aviv named as world’s most expensive city to live in (1/12/21 to 6/12/21)
In addition – not included in our count – one item appeared in the ‘updates’ section underneath the ‘Middle East’ page but not on the page itself:
One item appeared as ‘related reading’ but was not posted on the ‘Middle East’ page as an item in its own right:
Israel pledges 1m vaccines to Africa (16/12/21) discussed here
Once again, visitors to the BBC News website saw no coverage of internal Palestinian affairs throughout December, despite continued unrest and arrests in PA controlled areas. For the second month running, the exposure of Hamas networks in Judea & Samaria did not receive any BBC coverage whatsoever.
Related Articles:
SUMMARY OF BBC NEWS WEBSITE PORTRAYAL OF ISRAEL AND THE PALESTINIANS – NOVEMBER 2021
The BBC’s somewhat OCD behaviour, shows their determination to denigrate Israel. More reports on Israel in one month than every European country combined. #defundthebbc