Late on February 17th the BBC News website published a report by James Gregory headlined “Israel-Gaza war: Latest ceasefire talks not very promising – Qatar”.
The original version of that report included the following: [emphasis added]
“Speaking at a press conference in Tel Aviv on Saturday, Mr Netanyahu reiterated his aims of destroying Hamas and said his forces would fight until Israel achieved “absolute victory”.
He said those urging against military action in Rafah, the southern Gazan city where some 1.5 million people have fled, were effectively telling the country to “lose the war”, adding that his troops would enter even if a hostage deal was reached.”
CAMERA UK pointed out to the BBC in a complaint submitted the next morning that the February 17th press conference had not taken place “in Tel Aviv” as claimed. As can be seen at the top of the transcript published by the Government Press Office, it in fact was held at the Prime Minister’s Office in Jerusalem.
We also noted that apparently the BBC needs to remind its staff that Israeli government offices are located in the country’s capital city, which is Jerusalem.
The response received from BBC Complaints includes the following:
“Thank you for contacting us after we mistakenly reported that the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had been speaking in Tel Aviv rather than Jerusalem.
We made no mention of the capital however we appreciate this would be a concern. We apologise for the error which was swiftly corrected this morning after you alerted us to it.”
The report now reads:
“Speaking in Jerusalem on Saturday, Mr Netanyahu reiterated his aims of destroying Hamas and said his forces would fight until Israel achieved “total victory”.”
However, no footnote has been added to advise visitors to the BBC News website of that correction.
