BBC’s Mideast Coverage Censured

Today’s edition of The Guardian reports that the BBC’s Board of Governors upheld a complaint against a report on the BBC’s web site:

The report, published late last year, suggested the UN called for Israel’s unilateral withdrawal from territories seized during the six-day war when in fact it called for a negotiated “land for peace” settlement between Israel and “every state in the area”.

The BBC governors’ report concluded: “The committee considered that by selecting only references to Israel, the online article did not accurately reflect this balance and gave a biased impression. It therefore breached editorial standards on both accuracy and impartiality”.

The report, which was published in a timeline format, was apparently removed. See page 10 of the Program Complaints: Appeals to the Governors (in pdf format) for details.