Watch the report: (begins 27 minutes into the programme)
http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b00q9hkw/Newsnight_19_01_2010/
FROM THE BBC WEBSITE:
Celebrated Iraq war veteran's view of the Gaza conflict
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A year ago the Israeli army was readying itself to withdraw from the Gaza Strip, after a three-week campaign which led to accusations of war crimes.
The Israelis said they launched their assault because they could no longer tolerate the indiscriminate rocket attacks which were being launched on Israel from inside Gaza.
One year on, celebrated Gulf War veteran Colonel Tim Collins travelled to Gaza for a soldier's view of the conflict.
Broadcast on Tuesday 19 January 2010.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/newsnight/8470100.stm
www.conflictzones.tv is linked now to the BBC web entry above.
CRITICISM BY PALESTINIAN SOLIDARITY MOVEMENT OF COLLINS GAZA FILM
http://www.palestinecampaign.org/index7b.asp?m_id=1&l1_id=4&l2_id=24&Content_ID=1079
Letter sent to Newsnight by the PSC and others:
We the undersigned are writing to complain about the BBC’s coverage of Gaza in the Newsnight report of Tuesday 19th January 2009.
This was a shocking example that not only lacked contextual analysis but was riddled with inaccuracies.
The beginning of the report showed Colonel Tim Collins being received by an Israeli official from north London, a supporter of Tottenham football club; an attempt show an affinity and gain the sympathy of the British viewers.
It was an extremely biased programme in which Colonel Tim Collins seemed to be interested only in justifying the Israeli atrocities in Gaza last year and refuting the UN Goldstone Report which painstakingly investigated the actual events. It conveniently disregarded the context and deliberately distorted the reality. The context is, undoubtedly, the four decades long Israeli military occupation of Gaza and the almost four year blockade of the territory. Instead of telling his viewers that people resorted to the tunnels in order to import food and medicine, Collins insinuates that primary purpose of the tunnels is to import weapons. Then, he gave his personal opinion as to why the Israelis had targeted one particular mosque during Operation Cast Lead but ignored more than 50 other mosques that Israel destroyed. In stark contrast, the Goldstone report stated that the Mission investigated "the incident of a missile attack by the Israeli armed forces against al-Maqadmah mosque on the outskirts of Jabaliyah camp, in which at least 15 people were killed and 40 injured on 3 January 2009 .The Mission found no evidence that this mosque was used for the storage of weapons or any military activity by Palestinian armed groups"
Colonel Collins tried to justify the Israeli tank’s shelling of a doctor’s home in which some young women were killed by saying that the squadron of tanks “may have felt threatened” from their position on high ground in broad daylight! He referred to the fear and suffering of the Israelis living in Sderot but made no references to the fear and suffering of the Palestinian people who are living under constant threat of violence and a devastating siege. On at least two occasions he said that he could “sympathise” with the Israelis but made no similar comments about the Palestinians.
We demand;
(1) an urgent enquiry as to why the BBC allowed such a biased programme to be aired on one of its flagship shows and
(2) the showing of a similar lengthy report on Newsnight that reflects the reality of Gaza as shown in the Goldstone Report.
While the Panorama programme on Monday 18th January was a good example of reporting, and Jane Corbyn is to be congratulated, major newsworthy events have taken place in Palestine recently which the BBC has virtually ignored. This includes, for example, the Viva Palestina convoy of humanitarian aid to Gaza led by British MP George Galloway which received no coverage at all. Similarly, last week when a delegation of 60 Parliamentarians from across 12 European countries including Britain and led by Sir Gerald Kauffman, went to visit Gaza to see for themselves the devastation wrought by the Israeli attack and the ongoing siege in the region, the BBC again remained silent.
ENDS PALESTINE SOLIDARITY CAMPAIGN