The BBC supports Palestinian terrorist attack in Eilat

If you read the BBC report of yesterday's attack all the way through you will find that, not only do they justify the attack, but they also blatantly cover up the Palestinian reaction to it which was, as usual, overwhelmingly ecstatic. Their tactic of quoting only a Fatah spokesman, rather than a member of the government, Hamas, is especially interesting. I wonder if the next time there is a terrorist attack anywhere else in the world the BBC will only quote opposition parties? And if they wanted to quote a Fatah spokeman I wonder why they did not choose a member of the Al Aqsa Martyr's Brigade who are actually run by Fatah and their leader Mahmoud Abbas. Could it be because the Al Aqsa Martyr's Brigade planned the suicide bombing with Islamic Jihad (an announcement endorsing the attack can be seen on their web site, flanked by a portrait of Yasser Arafat), and actually said that they wanted to kill Israelis in order to help make a ceasfire between warring factions in Gaza (that's the Palestinians for you: Make peace by killing Jews)? Anyway, here is the self-explanatory complaint I have made to the BBC:

To the BBC:

This news item about the terrorist attack in Eilat, Israel yesterday (which killed three young Israelis in a bakery) contains a blatant factual error and displays anti-Israel bias. The report ends with the statement:

"The last suicide attack was at a Tel Aviv restaurant, killing 10 people. Hundreds of Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces in that time, mainly in the Gaza Strip. "

Apart from the fact that this statement appears to justify the terrorist attack, it happens to also be false. There have simply NOT been "Hundreds of Palestinians" killed by Israeli forces in that time. Approximately 150 Palestinians have been killed in that time by other Palestinians and a small number of Palestinian terrorists were killed by Israeli forces last summer and autumn after Hamas terrorists entered Israel and killed several soldiers before kidknapping another. There were also a number of Palestinians killed by two stray rockets - both of which were blamed on Israel but at least one of which has since been shown to have been a Palestinian bomb. In both cases Israeli fire was responding to incessant Qassam rocket attacks into Israel from Gaza, which have caused several deaths and much destruction (and which inevitably go unreported by the BBC).

I also find it incredible that your report emphasizes that a Palestinian spokesman, Yasser Abed Rabbo, condemned the killings but fails to mention the much more widespread praise (and even jubiliation) for the killings among the Palestinians. For example, why did the BBC choose to quote a Fatah spokeman rather than Hamas (who are after all the elected Government). Hamas have praised the attack, and welcomed it as an opportunity for rival factions in Gaza to concentrate their efforts on killing Jews rather than fellow Palestinians. The report also fails to mention the jubilation of the suicide bomber's family (as well as their knowledge that the attack was to take place). See, for example, this report

Edgar Davidson