BBC Focus Assessments of BBC coverage across all platforms <http://justjournalism.com/tag/hamas/> Hamas
13 May 2011, 16:25 BBC profile of Hamas downplays targeting of civilians and ideological extremism <http://justjournalism.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/hamas-gaza.jpg> 'While sporadic references are made to suicide bombings and rocket attacks, at no point is there any indication that these are aimed primarily at unarmed men, women and children. Indeed, the word 'civilian' does not appear at any stage in the profile. The absence of any close discussion of Hamas' methods of attacking non-combatants is compounded by the lack of information about its extreme ideology, which mandates the destruction of Israel by force. Most strikingly, the BBC's profile of Hamas makes no mention of the group's founding charter'. In light of the recent announcement that Hamas and Fatah, the two leading Palestinian factions, are to end a bitter and often violent division by forming a unity government, the BBC News website has updated its profile of the Gaza-based Islamist group. 'Profile: Hamas Palestinian movement <http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-13331522> ' purports to be an in-depth examination of the group, covering its history and political role. However, throughout the article, there are two major failures: a refusal to address how the group specifically targets civilians, and an almost total omission of its radical ideology. Commitment to violence against civilians The first reference in the article to Hamas' relationship to violence sets the tone for the rest of the article, showcasing the BBC's disinclination to explicitly set out the group's notoriety for killing Israeli civilians. Opening by giving equal weight to Hamas' initial goal of providing social welfare alongside performing 'armed resistance', the article continues: 'Hamas is designated a terrorist organisation by Israel, the US and EU, due to its refusal to renounce violence and recognise Israel.' The explanation that Hamas is designated a terrorist organisation due to its public positions evades the more pertinent point, which is that the 'violence' and 'armed resistance' referred to by the BBC has targeted civilians as a matter of policy -widely regarded as a key factor in defining terrorism. This evasiveness is maintained throughout the article. While sporadic references are made to suicide bombings and rocket attacks, at no point is there any indication that these are aimed primarily at unarmed men, women and children. Indeed, the word 'civilian' does not appear at any stage in the profile, in contrast to the BBC's frequent references to Palestinian civilians unintentionally killed by the Israeli military. This is despite the fact that the Second Intifada was infamous for hundreds of suicide bombers detonating themselves in non-military areas such as cafes and discos, while only last month Hamas celebrated a successful missile strike on an Israeli school bus <http://www.qassam.ps/news-4391-EQB_declares_responsibility_for_Kfar_Saad_op eration.html> that resulted in the death of an Israeli teenager. Furthermore, when mention is made of Hamas' attacks, the article always attempts to downplay their significance by contextualising them in terms of Israel's actions. For example, it describes a series of suicide bombings in 1996 as 'retaliation' for Israel's assassination of Yahya Ayyash, while Palestinian support for such attacks is given a similar explanation: '[Many Palestinians] saw "martyrdom" operations as the best way to avenge their own losses and counter Israel's unchecked settlement building in the West Bank.' Additionally, Israel's actions are portrayed as either equivalent or worse than those of Hamas. The characterisation of the run-up to the 2008 Gaza conflict equates the motivations and behaviour of the Israeli Defense Forces with those of Islamic militants deliberately targeting Israeli civilians, stating that 'rocket fire and Israeli raids continued to provide provocations for more violence by each side.' When describing Mahmoud Abbas' opposition to Palestinian violence, the article explains that: 'He viewed Hamas rocket fire, the militants' weapon of choice in recent years, as counter-productive, inflicting little damage on Israel but provoking a harsh response by the Israeli military.' Extreme ideological views The absence of any close discussion of Hamas' methods of attacking non-combatants is compounded by the lack of information about its extreme ideology, which mandates the destruction of Israel by force. Most strikingly, the BBC's profile of Hamas makes no mention of the group's founding charter <http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/middle_east/article721211.ece> , which states that: 'Israel will exist and will continue to exist until Islam will obliterate it, just as it obliterated others before it'. Along similar lines, none of Hamas' leaders have ever contradicted its guiding principle of the full re-taking of what it regards as Palestinian lands. Nonetheless, the profile's standfirst claims the group has moderated over time: 'Hamas is the largest Palestinian Islamist group, which has had to temper its traditional militant stance, given its political role as governing authority of the Gaza Strip.' This is echoed by its description of Ismail Haniyeh as a 'more moderate' leader of Hamas. Only last week he praised Osama bin Laden <http://justjournalism.com/bbc-focus/the-wire/hamas-in-gaza-osama-bin-laden- was-a-%E2%80%98holy-warrior%E2%80%99/> as a 'holy warrior'. In the one instance where the article does discuss Hamas' opposition to Israel, it frames the issue in terms of Israel's 'legitimacy' and actions: 'It has remained steadfast to its pledge never to sign up to a permanent ceasefire while Israel occupies Palestinian territory and its troops are responsible for the deaths of Palestinians.' As such, rather than posit that Hamas' refusal to recognise Israel's right to exist is derived from an extreme Islamist ideology which rejects a Jewish state on any part of the land, the article instead frames the group's rejectionist stance as a conditional response to Israeli actions. The reference to a 'permanent ceasefire' is also a misnomer, since Hamas has always qualified its truce offers by stating that they would be short-term only. On Wednesday, Hamas' foreign minister Mahmoud Zahar clarified that while the group was willing to accept a Palestinian state, it would never accept Israel <http://justjournalism.com/bbc-focus/the-wire/hamas-in-gaza-leader-rules-out -ever-recognising-israel/> since this would jeopardize the ability of future generations to 'liberate' all of Palestine. In contrast to the BBC's anodyne portrayal of the Islamist group, Just Journalism's 'Hamas in Gaza <http://justjournalism.com/bbc-focus/tag/hamas-in-gaza/> ' coverage has highlighted the group's extreme statements and multiple human rights violations in Gaza and Israel. Comments are closed. C 2010 Copyright <http://JustJournalism.com> JustJournalism.com. All Rights Reserved. [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------------------ -------------------------- Want to discuss this topic? 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