BBC NEWS COVERAGE OF TERRORISM IN ISRAEL – DECEMBER 2022 & YEAR END SUMMARY

The Israel Security Agency’s report on terror attacks during December 2022 shows that throughout the month a total of 214 incidents took place: 188 in Judea & Samaria, 24 in Jerusalem and inside the ‘green line’ and two in the Gaza Strip sector.

In Judea & Samaria, Jerusalem and inside the ‘green line’ the agency recorded 117 attacks with petrol bombs, 43 attacks using pipe bombs, 41 shooting attacks, eight arson attacks, one stabbing attack and two vehicular attacks. In the Gaza Strip sector one rocket attack and one incident of anti-aircraft fire were recorded.

Five people were wounded in attacks during December.

Two members of the security forces were wounded in a stabbing attack in Huwara on December 2^nd.

Four days later the BBC News website published an article by the BBC Jerusalem bureau’s Tom Bateman in which the number of wounded was portrayed as one and details of the incident were distorted. The opening line of Bateman’s report promotes disinformation:

“An eyewitness to the killing of a Palestinian by Israeli forces has told the BBC he believes the man was shot simply for punching a policeman.” [emphasis added]

As noted here at the time:

“…Bateman goes on to cast doubt on the involvement of a knife in the earlier stages of the incident, despite the police having provided photographs of the weapon and the wounded officer’s face.

“Asked whether Mr Mefleh had a knife, all four witnesses insisted he did not. No weapon is visible in Mr Mefleh’s hands or anywhere in the photo of him lying wounded after being shot by the Israeli driver.””

On December 5^th a member of the security forces was injured in an IED attack near Rachel’s Tomb and on December 23^rd two members of the security forces were injured in a vehicular attack in Kafr Qassem. The BBC News website did not report either of those incidents.

A rocket launched from the Gaza Strip on December 3^rd likewise did not receive any coverage on the BBC News website.

As can be seen in the table below, the BBC News website’s 2022 real time reporting of the firing of rockets at Israeli civilian communities by Gaza Strip based terrorist groups was confined to one month – August – during Operation Breaking Dawn.

Of the 2,591 attacks which did not take place during that operation, eighteen (0.69%) received coverage or mention on the BBC News website. Real time reporting of the fatalities resulting from Palestinian terror attacks stood at 73% in 2022.