Throughout the month of April 2023, thirty-five 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 ten of which were carried over from the previous month.
(dates in brackets indicate the time period – Israel time – during which the item was available on the ‘Middle East’ page)
Thirteen items concerned terrorism:
Israel blames Hamas for Lebanon rocket barrage as tensions rise Lucy Williamson & David Gritten (6/4/23) discussed here and here
Israel strikes Lebanon and Gaza after major rocket attack Lucy Williamson & David Gritten (7/4/23 to 10/4/23) discussed here and here
Two British-Israeli women killed in West Bank shooting David Gritten (7/4/23 to 11/4/23) discussed here and here
Tel Aviv car-ramming kills Italian tourist and injures 7 Yolande Knell & Christy Cooney (8/4/23 to 13/4/23) discussed here
Maia and Rina Dee named as British-Israeli sisters killed in West Bank shooting Lucy Williamson & Ben Morris (9/4/23) discussed here
Maia and Rina Dee: Father mourns at funeral of sisters killed in West Bank Lucy Williamson & Marita Moloney (9/4/23 to 11/4/23) discussed here
Songs of grief at funeral for sisters killed in occupied West Bank (9/4/23 to present)
Israel hits multiple targets in Syria after rockets fired into Golan Heights (9/4/23 to 14/4/23) discussed here
UK-Israeli mother dies after West Bank shooting Raffi Berg (10/4/23 to 15/4/23) discussed here
British-Israeli shooting victim Lucy Dee’s organs save five Raffi Berg (11/4/23 to 16/4/23) discussed here
West Bank: Brother of Palestinian killed in Hawara seeks answers Lucy Williamson (24/4/23 to 27/4/23) discussed here
Israel arrests Jordanian MP for alleged gun-smuggling Raffi Berg (24/4/23 to 27/4/23) discussed here
Jerusalem: Five injured in Palestinian car ramming attack Raffi Berg (24/4/23 to 28/4/23) discussed here
Six reports related to security or safety matters in Jerusalem during religious holidays:
Al-Aqsa mosque: Violence as Israeli police raid Jerusalem holy site David Gritten & Yaroslav Lukov (5/4/23 to 9/4/23) discussed here and here
Ramadan and Passover raise tensions at Jerusalem holy site Yolande Knell (5/4/23 to 9/4/23) discussed here
Violence and fireworks inside Jerusalem’s al-Aqsa mosque (5/4/23 to present)
Churches criticise Israeli curbs on Orthodox Easter event in Jerusalem Yolande Knell (12/4/23 to 17/4/23) discussed here
Jerusalem Christians say attacks on the rise Yolande Knell (15/4/23 to 17/4/23) discussed here
Holy Fire celebrated by Christians in Jerusalem amid Israeli police restrictions (16/4/23 to 19/4/23) discussed here
One item concerned the ’peace process’:
Israel and Palestinians: Gulf between hope and reality of peace Jeremy Bowen (18/4/23 to 21/4/23 and 26/4/23 to present) discussed here
Two reports concerned court cases in other countries:
Malka Leifer: former headmistress guilty of Australia child sex abuse Tiffanie Turnbull & Tom Housden (3/4/23 to 5/4/23)
Paris synagogue bomber convicted after 43 years Hugh Schofield (21/4/23 to 26/4/23) discussed here
One item concerned the PA’s reaction to a greeting for Israel’s Independence Day:
Palestinians condemn EU’s von der Leyen for ‘racist trope’ Yolande Knell (27/4/23 to present) discussed here
One report carried over from the previous month related to a trip to the UK by the Israeli prime minister:
Israel turmoil dogs Netanyahu’s UK trip Paul Adams (24/3/23 to 24/4/23)
One report carried over from the previous month had an archaeological theme:
Decoding oldest known sentence written in first alphabet (20/2/23 to 5/4/23)
Of ten reports concerning Israeli affairs, eight (six of which were carried over from March) concerned protests for and against the government’s proposed changes to the judicial system:
Watch: On the ground at Israel’s mass protests (9/3/23 to 9/4/23)
Israel protests: Thousands march against Netanyahu court reform (19/3/23 to 20/3/23 and 24/3/23 to present)
Police water cannon strike down protesters in Israel (27/3/23 to present)
Israel judicial reform: Why is there a crisis? Raffi Berg (27/3/23 to 26/4/23 and 29/4/23 to present)
Israel crisis a battle for country’s identity Tom Bateman (28/3/23 to 1/4/23) discussed here
Netanyahu rejects Biden’s call to drop Israel judicial overhaul Tom Bateman & David Gritten (29/3/23 to 1/4/23)
Israeli Arabs torn over judicial reforms protest movement Rhodri Davies (26/4/23 to 1/5/23) discussed here
Israel: Huge rally pushes back at judicial reform protests Yolande Knell (28/4/23 to present)
Two items carried over from the previous month related to government and parliamentary decisions:
Israel’s settlers change West Bank landscape with hilltop outposts Tim Franks (22/3/23 to 24/4/23)
Israeli gun ownership rising as violence surges Michael Shuval & Rhodri Davies (30/3/23 to 3/4/23) discussed here
Once again BBC News website audiences saw no reporting on internal Palestinian affairs during April. Since the beginning of 2023 only one item in that category (concerning a girls’ boxing club in Gaza) has appeared on the BBC News website.
Stories from PA and Hamas controlled areas that were ignored by the BBC during April include more death sentences given out by Hamas, the execution of a member of the ‘Lions Den’ in Nablus, the rescue of a Jewish couple by a man from Hebron, a strike by UNRWA staff which has prevented 45,000 children from attending school for weeks on end, attacks on Christians in PA controlled areas, attacks on a PA facility in Jenin, the death of a man in police detention in the Gaza Strip and a Palestinian Islamic Jihad military exercise in Jenin.
Related Articles:
SUMMARY OF BBC NEWS WEBSITE PORTRAYAL OF ISRAEL AND THE PALESTINIANS – MARCH 2023
