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The BBC apologized after news host Anjana Gadgil declared that Israeli forces enjoy killing children during an interview with former Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett.
Israeli forces have just concluded a large scale military operation in the West Bank. Palestinian leaders accused Israel of conducting an "invasion" of Jenin, while Israeli leaders said the raid was aimed at "the Hamas terrorist organization responsible for all terror activities emanating from the Gaza Strip." One Israeli soldier and 12 Palestinians were killed in the attack. The conflict concluded amid an exchange of artillery when Israeli forces intercepted rockets fired by Palestinian militants and responded with a series of airstrikes.
Gadgil hosted Bennet in a contentious interview, saying that, "young people are being killed, four of them under eighteen. Is that really what the military set out to do? To kill people between the ages of 16 and 18?"
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"Quite the contrary," Bennet said. "Actually, all 11 people dead there are militants. The fact that there are young terrorists that decide to hold arms is their responsibility." He went on to say that over 50 Israeli citizens have been murdered in the past year or so by militants who specifically came from the Jenin camp, arguing Jenin had become an "epicenter of terror."
Palestinian militants march during the funeral of Palestinians killed in clashes the previous day in the Israeli military operation in Jenin in the occupied West Bank on July 5, 2023. ((Photo by Jaafar ASHTIYEH / AFP) (Photo by JAAFAR ASHTIYEH/AFP via Getty Images))
"Terrorists, but children. The Israeli forces are happy to kill children," Gadgil replied.
Bennet appeared unfazed and replied by asking if she would still use the same tone if a 17-year-old Palestinian terrorist had been shooting at her family.
Many public figures and organizations expressed their outrage at Gadgil’s line of questioning during the interview.
"We are appalled by comments made by a BBC presenter during an interview with former Israeli Prime Minister @naftalibennett," the Board of Deputies of British Jews wrote. "This is a clear breach of the Corporation's own guidelines, and we will be contacting the Director General to protest in the strongest possible terms."
The Jerusalem Post noted that media watchdog HonestReporting "filed a formal complaint" to the BBC against Gadgil's conduct.
People attend the funeral of 10 Palestinians killed during the Israeli airstrikes and raids over Jenin Refugee Camp in Jenin, West Bank on July 5, 2023. ( (Photo by Issam Rimawi/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images))
"This goes beyond decent journalism, instead making an outrageous claim more akin to a blood libel and certainly not one that could possibly be backed up on a factual level," HonestReporting editorial director Simon Plosker wrote. "Instead, Gadgil projects her own bias and maliciously assumes the emotions of Israeli soldiers while falsely charging them as child killers. This outrageous piece of interviewing deserves to be investigated and appropriate action taken."
Smoke rises during an Israeli military raid of the militant stronghold of Jenin in the occupied West Bank, Monday, July 3, 2023. (AP Photo/Majdi Mohammed)
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The BBC has since apologized for the interview.
When contacted by Fox News Digital, a BBC spokesperson said: "BBC News has received comments and complaints concerning an interview with Naftali Bennett broadcast on the BBC News channel about recent events in the West Bank and Israel. The complaints raised relate to specific interview questions about the deaths of young people in the Jenin refugee camp."
The statement went on to note that while the BBC covers this conflict in an "impartial and robust" way, it nonetheless lamented how this interview was executed.
"Across the BBC’s platforms - including our news channel - these events have been covered in an impartial and robust way. The United Nations raised the issue of the impact of the operation in Jenin on children and young people. While this was a legitimate subject to examine in the interview, we apologise that the language used in this line of questioning was not phrased well and was inappropriate," the spokesperson said.
Timothy H.J. Nerozzi contributed to this report]
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