Make no mistake: the BBC is complicit in the abuse of Abdullah al-Yazuri

Abdullah al-Yazuri, the 15 year old Palestinian child who narrated the now-pulled BBC documentary Gaza: How to Survive a War Zone, has spoken on it. In an exclusive interview, he told Middle East Eye:

My message to the BBC: anything happens to me, the BBC is responsible for it.

The decision to pull the documentary about the lives of four Palestinian children has been met with sharp criticism. The International Centre for of Justice for Palestinians has lodged a complaint with the BBC. As the Canary reported:

The complaint outlines how the suppression of the testimony of Palestinians may constitute a failure by the BBC to uphold impartiality in ensuring that a range of perspectives are given weight and prominence.

Discounting the legitimate testimony of the 13-year-old child narrator Abdullah Al-Yazouri, based upon retroactively applied standards of familial or associational scrutiny, may breach the BBC and Ofcom requirements that contributors be treated fairly, while the lack of transparency regarding the ongoing review raises concerns.

Now, Abdullah’s comments are a damning indictment on what should be an embarrassing incident for the BBC.

BBC: erasing Palestinian experiences

While details remain murky, the original reason given for pulling the documentary was that Abdullah’s father worked as Hamas’ minister of agriculture. The BBC referred to it’s oft-mentioned values of impartiality, and scrabbled to apologise. Now, however, Abdullah has explained:

I played two roles in the documentary. I was a character at first. Then I was the narrator of the documentary talking about the stories of other characters in the documentary. The director of the movie had guided me to the lines that I had spoken, and no, my parents weren’t involved in any of the lines that I had spoke as a narrator.

And, Middle East Eye noted that:

Yazuri has been widely labelled a “Hamas chief”, “Hamas official” and “terror chief” by commentators and news organisations in Britain.

But MEE revealed on 20 February that Yazuri was in fact a technocrat with a scientific rather than political background and had previously worked for the UAE’s education ministry and studied at British universities.

Importantly:

Ministers, bureaucrats and civil servants in Gaza are appointed by Hamas, while in the West Bank they are appointed by the Palestinian Liberation Organisation.

Whether the BBC likes it or not, Hamas is a local government responsible for administration and governance. Even by their warped standards, Abdullah’s father is a fry cry from being some kind of “terror chief.” What was he supposed to do? Ignore his expertise, and refuse to help his community? And, Abdullah? Is his narration of what life is like for children in Gaza inadmissible for public viewing because of who his father is?

Double standards

And, for that matter, can the BBC say that they haven’t breached impartiality standards with the Israeli military? In April 2024, they joined a group of “international journalists” for a tour led by the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF). That’s the same IDF who face serious accusations of war crimes, including what Amnesty International described as a “shocking disregard” for civilian lives. The same IDF who have widespread allegations of torture against Palestinians, including depraved sexual violence. The same IDF who are accused by the UN of “relentless and deliberate attacks on medical personnel and facilities.”

Imagine the outcry if the BBC was part of a group of journalists taking a tour led by Hamas. The fact that the BBC are wringing their hands over impartiality whilst continually platforming and working alongside the Israeli military as a legitimate source of information is disgusting.

So much so, Abdullah revealed that after spending almost a year working on the documentary, the BBC didn’t even bother to let him know they were cancelling it:

I personally think it’s pretty disappointing, to be honest. I worked for over nine months on this documentary, only for it to be wiped and deleted. I found out about the decision to remove the documentary from the news that were revolving around the movie.

No, I did not receive any apology from the BBC.

Abdullah also detailed the mental anguish he and his family have been subjected to:

Hopefully it doesn’t really affect my future, but it was pretty disappointing and sad to see this backlash against me and my family, as well as the harassment we faced.

Deep-rooted BBC bias

British-Israeli historian Avi Shlaim spoke to Middle East Eye about the cancellation of the documentary and said:

The BBC has good reporters on Israel-Palestine but its bosses are hopelessly compromised by their pronounced and persistent bias in favour of Israel.

The reason for this bias is not lack of knowledge but cowardice, the fear of antagonising Israel and Israel’s friends in high places in Britain.

Abdullah wasn’t paid for his nine-months long work, aside for expenses deposited into his sister’s account. Even so, BBC bosses are so committed to anti-Palestinian and pro-Israeli propaganda that they’d rather risk erasing a young boy’s retelling of his own experiences as a child trying to survive a genocide than confront Israel’s actions. As Shlaim argues, the BBC know full well what they’re doing – and it’s the cowardice that shines through.

Featured image via the Canary