One could speculate that this is because of Husain’s innate, tribal ‘AsaMuslim” hostility to Israel. However, as various insiders frequently attest, the Today Programme is routinely preceded by an editorial briefing, therefore one assumes that Husain isn't given totally free rein on the angle through which interviews are framed. So the aforementioned cluelessness probably isn’t solely down to Husain.
Ever since the recent reports of the killing of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad leader, or ‘commander’ if you like, it seems increasingly clear that the BBC is presenting this as an ‘extra-judicial’ assassination, an isolated incident, solely responsible for ‘kicking the whole thing off’. (‘The whole thing’ being the escalation of violence in which several (allegedly) innocent Palestinians have lost their lives. )
Once upon a time I would have weighed in and taken on the argument (that this was by no means an isolated or random incident) all by myself. But not now. I’m weary and disillusioned. Then, lo and behold, along comes this article in Commentary Magazine and does the job for me.
Gaza's Cycle of Self-Destruction - Terrorists in isolation
Before I go into any more detail, let me just remind myself of Mishal Husain’s (and the BBC’s) starting point. They regard PIJ (Iran’ s proxy) as a legitimate and properly kosher fighting force. This takes impartiality to its logical conclusion, where the devil and the angel get equal billing. Some might even say the devil is pitched as the protagonist and therefore captures the audience’s sympathy.
Let me quote from Commentary Magazine: (bold added by me)
“First things first. According to the New York Times’s Isabel Kershner and others, the latest round of violence between Israel and the Islamic Jihad terrorist organization in Gaza was “set off by Israel’s assassination of a senior Islamic Jihad commander on Tuesday.” This is not strictly true.”
(The NY Times is as left-leaning as the Beeb)
“That senior Islamic Jihad commander, Baha Abu al-Ata, was behind a series of rocket attacks on the Israeli city of Sderot less than two weeks ago. That, and other recent attacks against Israel, is what got him killed; the confrontation, therefore, predates his assassination. It’s just that the earlier rocket attacks didn’t make much news outside of Israel.
(Particularly on the Beeb.)
“But since Tuesday morning, the Iranian supported Islamic Jihad has fired 350 rockets from Gaza into Israel, some reaching as far as Tel Aviv. And Israel has been pounding Islamic Jihad targets inside Gaza. The casualty numbers change quickly, but last I saw, Gaza’s Health Ministry claimed that 24 Palestinians have been killed, and 69 others have been wounded—20 of the 24 were Islamic Jihad fighters. In Israel, 48 people were wounded, and none killed.
And so on. Mishal Husain was keen to point out that “Islamic Jihad is not the main militant group in Gaza.” Why say that? Could it be to suggest that Israel’s actions are unnecessarily provocative because “Hamas will be further drawn in” But of course it's PIJ that's doing the 'drawing in', not Israel.
“During this week’s conflict, Israel has not yet targeted Hamas, Gaza’s governing terrorist organization. But there’s now much speculation about what Hamas will do in response to the flare-up. Islamic Jihad has no governing control of Gaza, but, as the current violence demonstrates, it can easily draw the Strip into conflict. And it is Hamas’s failure to curb Islamic Jihad’s continued provocations against Israel that has led to the present crisis.
As Abu al-Ata ramped up his campaign against the Jewish state, Israel warned Hamas that it wasn’t going to take it forever. “Via publications in various media outlets; messages conveyed by Egyptian intelligence; and warnings via international mediators,” writes Avi Issacharoff at the Times of Israel, “Israel repeatedly urged Hamas to take action.” Hamas didn’t act. Israel did.
Please take a few moments to read the whole thing. Don't be daunted - do read; it's not too long.
It’s a shame that the BBC takes such a superficial, half-a-story approach to all its reporting on this topic. It’s largely because the general public is being misinformed and deliberately kept in a state of ignorance through the BBC's biased, one-sided and Philo-Islamic reporting that the Labour Party is able to get away with its rampantly sanctimonious antisemitism.
Mishal 'not enough dead israelis' Husain?
ReplyDeleteMishal Husain was from a Pakistani Muslim family and was brought up and educated in Saudi Arabia - a state which let us recall does not let a single Jew reside within its borders (something presumably her family was comfortable with). She will have been eduated in the genocidal Hadith about Jews.
ReplyDeleteShe knows all tell well exactly what Hamas and Islamic Jihad are up to.
Given that she never mentions the evil intent of those organisations - to wipe out UN-recognised Israel, enegage in mass slaughter and remove Jewish people from the region (excepting those prepared to become Dhimmis)- I think we are entitled to make up our own minds about her beliefs and motivation. I definitely don't think she is underinformed.
Excellent observations and I completely agree. Mishal knows exactly what she is doing ..and why. Taqiya?
DeleteTaqiyya is in the heart of the deceiver...so who knows? It was Good Queen Bess who said we shouldn't make windows into men's souls...doesn't stop the BBC doing it, though.
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