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Just Journalism Newsletter 25 January 2010

BBC Panorama: Skewed account of shooting incident Last Tuesday's edition of BBC documentary programme Panorama focused on the tensions between Jews and Palestinians in east Jerusalem, a subject gaining increasing attention in UK Middle East reporting. 'A walk in the park', presented by BBC journalist Jane Corbin, addressed Jewish building, archaeology and development in the eastern side of the city, and the impact these activities are having on Palestinian residents. Demolitions, evictions and concerns about Muslim prayer sites were all covered at length,  conveying clearly to viewers a message of Palestinian suffering, despair and uncertainty. One incident, given substantial coverage in the documentary, was portrayed by the BBC in a highly misleading way, by the heavy emphasis of one version of events to the near exclusion of the other. All the relevant facts were in the public domain, making this difficult to justify. The episode involved the shooting of two Palestinians, one of whom was Silwan resident Ahmad Qaareen, by an Israeli in September 2009 in east Jerusalem. It was covered in the Israeli press at the time, with both Ha'aretz and Ynet reporting that the Israeli shooter claimed he had acted in self-defence after being attacked by Palestinians and that he was subsequently released from custody on that basis. Two problems emerged in the reporting: · Commentary with footage misleading · Israeli version of events dismissed Just Journalism is taking up this issue with the BBC. Misleading commentary The BBC journalist presents viewers with footage and a photo depicting part of what allegedly happened, saying: 'Last September, CCTV footage recorded a scuffle between some Arabs and two Israelis - one of them was armed. They backed off up the street, out of sight of the camera. Ahmad says he heard his kids screaming, and ran outside. A bystander took this picture: Ahmad, in a white t-shirt, no gun, facing the Israelis.' However, the BBC journalist's commentary is at odds with what the footage and the photo seem to actually depict. Viewers see an unarmed Israeli being pushed, together with an armed Israeli behind him. Both move backwards as at least five men walk towards them. They then all move out of shot - the two Israelis backing away from those who are approaching them. The photograph referred to by Corbin shows a man in an aggressive posture - purportedly Mr Qaareen- facing the armed Israeli who is pointing his weapon towards Qaareen's lower half. Given the Israeli's widely reported claim that he shot the man below the waist in self-defence after feeling threatened by a group of Palestinians, it is remarkable that Jane Corbin did not mention this when she was presenting evidence which appeared to support this version. On the contrary, she used the footage and photo to add credence to the claim that the shooting happened as the result of settler violence in Silwan. Israeli claim dismissed Viewers were then presented with a series of visual indicators of Quareen's victimhood. He is filmed lying on a sofa with crutches in the background, giving his account of what happened. Stills of bullet casings and blood at the scene are shown, as well as x-rays of his wounds. Corbin comments: 'He nearly bled to death' against footage of Qaareen receiving treatment in hospital. Finally, Ahmad Qaareen's son is introduced and offers a traumatic account of the event: 'I saw him standing over my dad and he shot him again. He shot him again.'  The only reference to the Israeli version of events comes near the end of the piece during the footage of Qaareen in hospital. The BBC journalist says simply, 'The Israeli was released without charge, claiming he'd been attacked and was acting in self-defence.' The lack of detail and the positioning of this comment encourage the viewer to regard the self-defence claim as holding little or no weight, when evidence available to the BBC journalist points to this being a real possibility. If you missed our 'Highlights from 2009', or to read more analysis click here. For more information or to contact us, please visit  www.justjournalism.com Just Journalism does not endorse the views and opinions presented in the articles, documentaries and programmes referred to above.