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The BBC is facing calls to suspend two journalists on social media who shared anti-Israel messages or “liked” videos celebrating the October 7 Hamas terror attacks.
Nicola Richards, Conservative MP for West Bromwich East and head of Conservative Friends of Israel, last night called on the corporation to suspend the BBC’s Arab journalists while it investigates.
Soha Ibrahim and Marie-Jose Al Azzi were credited with covering a BBC article claiming that Israeli soldiers beat and humiliated Palestinian doctors during a raid on a hospital in Gaza last month.
The BBC report last week led to international condemnation of Israel, with Foreign Secretary Lord Cameron calling for “answers from the Israelis”.
Marie-José Al Azzi (left) described Israel as a “terrorist apartheid state” in a 2018 post that has since been deleted and Soha Ibrahim (right) “liked” an October 7 post celebrating “the first of the martyrs of the operation
In a statement, the BBC said: “We do not comment on individual staff matters, however, if we find any breaches we take appropriate action” (File image)
On the day of the Hamas attacks, October 7, Ms. Ibrahim “liked” videos of people in Lebanon and Tunisia dancing and waving Palestinian flags, and of Egyptian soccer fans chanting “we sacrifice our souls, our blood for Palestine.”
London-based Ms Ibrahim, who has worked for the BBC for 12 years, also “liked” an October 7 article celebrating “the first of the operation’s martyrs”, The Mail on revealed yesterday.
Meanwhile, Ms Al Azzi, who has worked at the BBC since 2019 and is based in Lebanon, described Israel as a “terrorist apartheid state” in a 2018 post that has since been deleted, according to anti-Semitism researchers.
Ms Richards told the Mail: “The BBC has a responsibility not just in the UK, but around the world. People rely on them for unbiased information.
Anti-Semitism czar John Mann said: “Any journalist who likes anything overtly racist is clearly not credible. I’m sure they will want to investigate these allegations thoroughly.
In a statement, the BBC said: “We do not comment on individual staff matters, however, if we find any breaches we take appropriate action.”