The BBC has apologized after a documentary on the Israel-Gaza war featured narration from the son of a senior Hamas official.
The corporation has removed Gaza: How to Survive a Warzone from its streaming service BBC iPlayer, acknowledging “unacceptable flaws”. The film follows four teenage boys through the conflict in Gaza, and pro-Israel protestors have been in uproar after discovering one of the 13-year-old subjects, Abdullah Al-Yazouri, is the son of Hamas’ deputy minister of agriculture.
In a new statement on Thursday following a BBC board review, the corporation said: “BBC News takes full responsibility for these [flaws] and the impact that these have had on the Corporation’s reputation,” adding that there are “no plans to broadcast the programme again in its current form or return it to iPlayer”.
The full apology, which can be read here, says that while production company Hoyo Films have “assured us that no payments were made to members of Hamas or its affiliates, either directly, in kind, or as a gift, the BBC is seeking additional assurance around the budget of the programme and will undertake a full audit of expenditure.” Hoyo Films acknowledged that the BBC were not informed of Abdullah Al-Yazouri’s Hamas ties.
A separate statement from the BBC Board added: “The subject matter of the documentary was clearly a legitimate area to explore, but nothing is more important than trust and transparency in our journalism. While the Board appreciates that mistakes can be made, the mistakes here are significant and damaging to the BBC.” A review into the film has been launched.
“The BBC has become a mouthpiece for terror. It cannot call terrorism by its name. The BBC has become a spokesperson for terrorists,” said Gideon Falter, the chief executive of the Campaign Against Antisemitism (CAA), which organized a demonstration outside the BBC headquarters in central London earlier this week. Photos from the event showed protestors holding up placards that read “spokespeople for terrorists.” Other signs showed Hamas militants with BBC headbands.
However, following its removal from iPlayer, industry figures were calling on the BBC to reinstate the program. Soccer star Gary Lineker, actors Riz Ahmed, Khalid Abdalla, Miriam Margolyes and director Mike Leigh are among the 800+ signatories of an open letter published by Artists for Palestine U.K. on Wednesday.
The media professionals, including 12 BBC staff, sent a letter to director-general Tim Davie, as well as chair of the board Samir Shah, outgoing chief content officer Charlotte Moore, and head of news and current affairs Deborah Turness.
“Beneath this political football are children who are in the most dire circumstances of their young lives,” the letter reads. “This is what must remain at the heart of this discussion. As programme-makers, we are extremely alarmed by the intervention of partisan political actors on this issue, and what this means for the future of broadcasting in this country.”
The letter also dubbed the campaign “racist” and “dehumanising.” It called on the BBC to “reject attempts to have the documentary permanently removed or subjected to undue disavowals.”
The BBC did not immediately respond The Hollywood Reporter’s request for comment.
