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The Media Hides the Murders and Crimes of Palestinian ‘Prisoners’ Released in Hostage Swap
A man looks at pictures and memorabilia related to fallen soldiers, hostages, and people killed during the Oct. 7, 2023 attack by Hamas, ahead of a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, at a public square in Tel Aviv, Israel, Jan. 16, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Shir Torem
On January 20, the BBC News website published a filmed report on its Middle East page, under the headline “Moment freed Palestinian prisoners reunite with family and friends”:
Ninety Palestinians were released from Israeli jails as part of the first phase in a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas.
Footage shows the prisoners, mostly woman and children, greeted by cheers upon arrival as people gathered to welcome them in the occupied West Bank.
In exchange for these prisoners, three hostages were released from Gaza to Israel.
That 59-second-long filmed report does not include any commentary or subtitles beyond “Palestinian prisoners freed” and “West Bank” in its opening frame.
It does show the same released prisoner twice — between 00:18 and 00:22 and between 00:45 and 00:54 — without any context provided to viewers:
Also on January 20, listeners to the BBC World Service radio station and BBC Radio 4 heard a report on that story from Jon Donnison.
In the version aired on Newshour, presenter Tim Franks told listeners (from 15:41 here) that: [emphasis in italics in the original]
Franks: “Hours after the release of those three Israeli hostages, ninety Palestinian prisoners — women and teenage boys — were freed from Israeli jails. Thirty prisoners for each hostage. Our correspondent Jon Donnison watched that detainee release take place in the West Bank.”
At 17:17 Donnison described one of those released — the same woman who appeared in the BBC’s filmed report — as follows:
Donnison: “Among them was 62-year-old Khalida Jarrar — a politician from the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine [PFLP] — jailed after the October 7th attack. She said it was a bittersweet moment.”
Listeners then heard a voice-over translation of comments made by Jarrar — but Donnison did not bother to inform listeners around the world that the PFLP is an internationally-designated terrorist organization, which took part in the October 7 massacre.
Neither did he bother to clarify that Khalida Jarrar was arrested in 2015 and charged with being a member of the PFLP and inciting people to kidnap Israeli soldiers. Jarrar confessed to those charges and under the terms of a plea bargain, was sentenced to 15 months imprisonment.
After her release, Jarrar became one of the heads of the PFLP in Judea & Samaria, and she was re-arrested in October 2019 following the terror attack perpetrated by that terrorist organization in which 17-year-old Rina Shnerb was murdered.
Once again, Jarrar confessed to the charges and was sentenced to 24 months in prison. While serving that sentence, Jarrar chose to once again run for political office on behalf of the PFLP terrorist organization. She was released in September 2021.
As was noted here in 2019, the BBC elected to ignore the arrests of PFLP operatives in connection with that terror attack.
Readers may also recall that in 2014, Jon Donnison portrayed a PFLP “fighter commander” as a “charity worker.”
The BBC’s failure to adequately explain the terror links of Palestinian prisoners is of course by no means new: audiences saw the same style of reporting in November 2023 and indeed long before that.
Nevertheless, BBC audiences obviously cannot properly understand the story that the corporation purports to report in these two items — or similar future ones — if they are not provided with an accurate and impartial portrayal of the reasons why those now being released from prison by Israel were detained in the first place and the terrorist organizations to which they are linked.
Hadar Sela is the co-editor of CAMERA UK — an affiliate of the Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting and Analysis (CAMERA), where a version of this article first appeared.
The post The Media Hides the Murders and Crimes of Palestinian ‘Prisoners’ Released in Hostage Swap first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Witkoff Reportedly Conveys Principals for Ceasefire Proposal to Hamas
US Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff, Washington, DC, Jan. 20, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Carlos Barria
i24 News – United States (US) Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff conveyed a message to Hamas behind the scenes regarding the conditions for negotiations — involving freeing the 48 remaining hostages in exchange for ending the war — Israeli media reported Sunday morning.
Witkoff’s message was relayed to Hamas through Israeli activist Gershon Baskin, who had also helped broker messages in the 2011 Gilad Shalit negotiations, a source told Israeli reporter Barak Ravid. He delivered the message through senior Hamas official Ghazi Hamad.
The proposal included several general principles in addition to the release of all the hostages in exchange for ending the war, Ravid reported.
i24NEWS correspondent Guy Azriel reported that Israel is not responding to reports of the document of principles, saying, “This is a matter of correspondence between the Americans and Hamas.” The only message from Jerusalem at this stage remains, “We are adhering to the five conditions that the cabinet voted on to end the war.”
Meanwhile, Hamas released a statement Saturday evening expressing their readiness for a ceasefire agreement, saying, “We renew our commitment and adherence to the agreement we announced together with the Palestinian factions regarding the mediators’ proposal for a ceasefire on August 18.”
The annnouncment included their willingness to agree to a ceasefire under conditions including the withdrawl of Israeli forces and release of the hostages, but did not meet Israel’s conditions for ending the war which include the full disarmament of Hamas, demilitarization of the Strip, and Israeli security control over Gaza.
“We emphasize our openness to any ideas or proposals that would achieve a permanent ceasefire, a complete withdrawal of the occupation forces from the Gaza Strip, the unconditional entry of aid, and genuine prisoner exchanges through serious negotiations mediated by intermediaries,” Hamas added.
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Iranian Foreign Minister Urges Europe to Rethink Nuclear Stance
Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi addresses a special session of the Human Rights Council at the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, June 20, 2025. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse
i24 News – Iranian Foreign Minister Seyyed Abbas Araghchi has called on Britain, France, and Germany to change course after their decision to trigger the UN mechanism for reinstating sanctions against Iran.
In an op-ed published Sunday in The Guardian, Araghchi argued that the move has “no legal basis,” claiming the mechanism outlined in the 2015 nuclear deal (JCPOA) cannot be applied without considering the United States’ withdrawal from the pact in 2018 under former President Donald Trump.
The minister accused European governments of “blindly following Washington’s strategy” while failing to honor their own commitments, including lifting economic sanctions and restoring normal trade relations with Tehran.
Araghchi also criticized Europe’s silence over Israel’s June strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities, warning that such passivity would leave them sidelined in regional diplomacy.
He reiterated Iran’s readiness for dialogue but only under conditions that ensure both strict oversight of its nuclear program and the full removal of sanctions.
He cautioned that failure in diplomacy could have “serious regional and international consequences,” stressing that Iran’s military is prepared to defend against any aggression.
Araghchi concluded by urging Europe and the U.S. to “give diplomacy a chance,” warning that the alternative would be a dangerous escalation that risks further destabilizing the Middle East.
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Israeli Military Spokesperson Issues Evacuation Warning for Residents in Gaza City
Smoke and flames rise as an Israeli airstrike hits a house, in Gaza City, September 7, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Khamis Al-Rifi
The Israeli military’s Arabic spokesperson on Sunday issued a new evacuation warning for residents in a building in Gaza City and surrounding tents, as Israel called again for Hamas to surrender.
It was the second warning for the same building and tents housing displaced families in little over 24 hours.