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Why Is the BBC Giving Voice to Hamas and Palestinian Terrorists in Gaza?
The BBC logo is seen at the entrance at Broadcasting House, the BBC headquarters in central London. Photo by Vuk Valcic / SOPA Images/Sipa USA via Reuters Connect
While the world anxiously awaited the release of Israeli hostages last week following the Israel-Hamas ceasefire agreement, the BBC’s Jon Donnison had other priorities — giving Palestinian prisoners a platform to justify the unspeakable atrocities of October 7, 2023.
Donnison, a familiar face who previously proved to be something of a liability for the BBC’s coverage of Israel and Gaza, is back on the Middle East newsdesk — at least for now. Unsurprisingly, his first order of business was to head to Ramallah, where he began churning out sympathetic stories about the hostage-prisoner exchange.
In the lead-up to the exchange, Donnison ventured just a few kilometers from his presumed base in Ramallah to Beitunia. There, he tracked down a family member of a Palestinian prisoner — many of whom were jailed for violent offenses or membership in terrorist organizations — and published a piece featuring their joyful anticipation of the prisoners’ early release, titled, “Palestinians in West Bank wait anxiously for prisoners to be released.”
And last Monday, Donnison’s roving reporting around the West Bank was rewarded. He was able to file a glowing piece about Bushra al-Tawil, a Hamas-linked “journalist” whose father, Sheikh Jamal al-Tawil, is not merely a “Hamas politician” (as Donnison euphemistically labels him) but a senior figure in the terrorist organization.
The headline of Donnison’s piece, “‘The hostages meant I got out’: Freed Palestinian prisoner welcomes Gaza deal,” is as revealing as it is appalling.
This was an example of the publicly funded BBC handing a platform to a woman with well-documented ties to Hamas, a UK-proscribed terrorist organization, to justify the kidnapping of innocent civilians on the grounds that it gave Hamas the leverage to secure the early release of Palestinians convicted of violent offenses.
Did @BBCNews just give a Hamas-linked “journalist” the stage to justify the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks?
Yes, they did. This appalling excuse for journalism should make the BBC ashamed.
pic.twitter.com/OrY6KB4WXQ
— HonestReporting (@HonestReporting) January 22, 2025
The article generously indulges in the kind of sensational claims that Donnison appears to thrive on, with al-Tawil alleging she was frequently “badly beaten,” burned with cigarettes, stripped naked, and denied her headscarf.
To his credit, Donnison did manage to muster one tough question amid his otherwise soft-focus portrayal of al-Tawil: Does she support Hamas? Her refusal to answer was seemingly not followed up, and then it was straight back to giving her a publicly-funded platform to rationalize Hamas’ atrocities. After all, why shouldn’t British taxpayers be invited to look fondly on the release back into society of the likes of notorious mass murderer Zakaria Zubeidi? Or, as she put it, allowed to “go back home.” Truly heartwarming.
On Bushra al-Tawil’s father, Jamal al-Tawil, Donnison opts for a remarkably sanitized description, labeling him a “prominent Hamas politician.” It’s a curiously neutral way to describe a man who has publicly declared that Palestine “from the river to the sea” is “united under the banner of the resistance and the Intifada.”
In a 2021 speech honoring “martyrs,” broadcast on Palestine TV, Jamal al-Tawil proclaimed that Palestinians and their “martyrs” had “redrawn the map of Palestine,” with their blood blending together to achieve this goal. Hardly the kind of oration of a mere “politician.”
Donnison’s decision to frame al-Tawil this way is especially puzzling given that the UK — where the BBC is based — makes no distinction between Hamas’ so-called political and military wings. The entire organization is designated as a terrorist group.
We should hardly be surprised by Donnison’s reporting. After all, this is a journalist who, just weeks into the Israel-Hamas war, was widely criticized for suggesting the explosion at the Al-Ahli Hospital in Gaza must have been caused by an Israeli airstrike. That claim, which conveniently aligned with Hamas’ narrative, was proven false by US intelligence and video evidence, which showed the explosion was the result of a misfired Islamic Jihad rocket.
The BBC quietly reassigned Donnison away from the region shortly thereafter, placing him back in London. But, as is tradition at the BBC — where no editorial “mistake” involving Israel ever seems to carry meaningful career consequences — Donnison is back. And judging by his latest output, he’s already hard at work doing fresh damage to the corporation’s reputation.
But then again, why should the BBC care? This is the same organization whose coverage of the Israel-Hamas war was found to have breached its own editorial guidelines at least 1,500 times in an independent review. If Donnison wants to spend his time padding out his contacts book with every Hamas sympathizer and jihadi from Tulkarm to Timbuktu, who at the BBC is going to stop him?
Israel’s hot war with Hamas may have paused for now, but it appears the BBC has no plans to slow its relentless campaign against the Jewish state.
The author is a contributor to HonestReporting, a Jerusalem-based media watchdog with a focus on antisemitism and anti-Israel bias — where a version of this article first appeared.
The post Why Is the BBC Giving Voice to Hamas and Palestinian Terrorists in Gaza? first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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North London Synagogue, Nursery Targeted in Eighth Local Antisemitic Incident in Just Over a Week
Demonstrators against antisemitism in London on Sept. 8, 2025. Photo: Campaign Against Antisemitism
A synagogue and its nursery school in the Golders Green area of north London were targeted in an antisemitic attack on Thursday morning — the eighth such incident locally in just over a week amid a shocking surge of anti-Jewish hate crimes in the area.
The synagogue and Jewish nursery were smeared with excrement in an antisemitic outrage echoing a series of recent incidents targeting the local Jewish community.
“The desecration of another local synagogue and a children’s nursery with excrement is a vile, deliberate, and premeditated act of antisemitism,” Shomrim North West London, a Jewish organization that monitors antisemitism and also serves as a neighborhood watch group, said in a statement.
“This marks the eighth antisemitic incident locally in just over a week, to directly target the local Jewish community,” the statement read. “These repeated attacks have left our community anxious, hurt, and increasingly worried.”
Local law enforcement confirmed they are reviewing CCTV footage and collecting evidence to identify the suspect and bring them to justice.
This latest anti-Jewish hate crime came just days after tens of thousands of people marched through London in a demonstration against antisemitism, amid rising levels of antisemitic incidents across the United Kingdom since the Hamas-led invasion of and massacre across southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.
In just over a week, seven Jewish premises in Barnet, the borough in which Golders Green is located, have been targeted in separate antisemitic incidents.
According to the Metropolitan Police, an investigation has been launched into the targeted attacks, all of which involved the use of bodily fluids.
During the incidents, a substance was smeared on four synagogues and a private residence, while a liquid was thrown at a school and over a car in two other attacks.
As the investigation continues, local police said they believe the same suspect is likely responsible for all seven offenses, which are being treated as religiously motivated criminal damage.
No arrests have been made so far, but law enforcement said it is actively engaging with the local Jewish community to provide reassurance and support.
The Community Security Trust (CST), a nonprofit charity that advises Britain’s Jewish community on security matters, condemned the recent wave of attacks and called on authorities to take immediate action.
“The extreme defilement of several Jewish locations in and around Golders Green is utterly abhorrent and deeply distressing,” CST said in a statement.
“CST is working closely with police and communal partners to support victims and help identify and apprehend the perpetrator,” it continued.
The Campaign Against Antisemitism (CAA) also denounced the attacks, calling for urgent measures to protect the Jewish community.
“These repeated incidents are leaving British Jews anxious and vulnerable in their own neighborhoods, not to mention disgusted,” CAA said in a statement.
Since the start of the war in Gaza, the United Kingdom has experienced a surge in antisemitic crimes and anti-Israel sentiment.
Last month, CST published a report showing there were 1,521 antisemitic incidents in the UK from January to June of this year. It marks the second-highest total of incidents ever recorded by CST in the first six months of any year, following the first half of 2024 in which 2,019 antisemitic incidents were recorded.
In total last year, CST recorded 3,528 antisemitic incidents for 2024, the country’s second worst year for antisemitism despite being an 18 percent drop from 2023’s record of 4,296.
In previous years, the numbers were significantly lower, with 1,662 incidents in 2022 and 2,261 hate crimes in 2021.
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Germany to Hold Off on Recognizing Palestinian State but Will Back UN Resolution for Two-State Solution
German national flag flutters on top of the Reichstag building, that seats the Germany’s lower house of parliament, the Bundestag, in Berlin, Germany, March 25, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Lisi Niesner
Germany will support a United Nations resolution for a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict but does not believe the time has come to recognize a Palestinian state, a government spokesman told Reuters on Thursday.
“Germany will support such a resolution which simply describes the status quo in international law,” the spokesman said, adding that Berlin “has always advocated a two-state solution and is asking for that all the time.”
“The chancellor just mentioned two days ago again that Germany does not see that the time has come for the recognition of the Palestinian state,” the spokesman added.
Britain, France, Canada, Australia, and Belgium have all said they will recognize a Palestinian state at the United Nations General Assembly later this month, although London said it could hold back if Israel were to take steps to ease the humanitarian crisis in Gaza and commit to a long-term peace process.
The United States strongly opposes any move by its European allies to recognize Palestinian independence.
Last week, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that the US has told other countries that recognition of a Palestinian state will cause more problems.
Those who see recognition as a largely symbolic gesture point to the negligible presence on the ground and limited influence in the conflict of countries such as China, India, Russia, and many Arab states that have recognized Palestinian independence for decades.
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UN Security Council, With US Support, Condemns Strikes on Qatar
Qatar’s Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al-Thani attends an emergency meeting of the United Nations Security Council, following an Israeli attack on Hamas leaders in Doha, Qatar, at UN headquarters in New York City, US, Sept. 11, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Eduardo Munoz
The United Nations Security Council on Thursday condemned recent strikes on Qatar’s capital Doha, but did not mention Israel in the statement agreed to by all 15 members, including Israel‘s ally the United States.
Israel attempted to kill the political leaders of Hamas with the attack on Tuesday, escalating its military action in what the United States described as a unilateral attack that does not advance US and Israeli interests.
The United States traditionally shields its ally Israel at the United Nations. US backing for the Security Council statement, which could only be approved by consensus, reflects President Donald Trump’s unhappiness with the attack ordered by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
“Council members underscored the importance of de-escalation and expressed their solidarity with Qatar. They underlined their support for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Qatar,” read the statement, drafted by Britain and France.
The Doha operation was especially sensitive because Qatar has been hosting and mediating negotiations aimed at securing a ceasefire in the Gaza war.
“Council members underscored that releasing the hostages, including those killed by Hamas, and ending the war and suffering in Gaza must remain our top priority,” the Security Council statement read.
The Security Council will meet later on Thursday to discuss the Israeli attack at a meeting due to be attended by Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani.