BBC’s Warped Priorities

The Middle East is full of important news stories at this particular moment. Thousands of Syrian civilians are fleeing across the Turkish border to escape Bashar Assad’s murderous crackdown on anti-government protests. A new Hezbollah-dominated government has just been appointed in Lebanon.

But what is the second item on the BBC News Online homepage? A report on Gazan unemployment released by UNRWA.

This says much about the BBC’s warped sense of priorities when it comes to the Middle East. And the story itself chimes perfectly with the BBC’s worldview where Palestinians, in this case Hamas, cannot be held in any way responsible for the travails of the Palestinian people.

For both UNRWA and the BBC, there is only one party responsible for Gaza’s economic difficulties – Israel. Perhaps they would like to consider how much better off Gazans would be if Hamas decided to renege on stockpiling weapons and allowing missiles to be launched at Israeli civilian targets from the Gaza Strip. Then, perhaps there would be no need for an Israeli blockade.

Is it a coincidence that this story has made headline news on the BBC? Or could it be something to do with the fact that UNRWA spokesman Christopher Gunness, who sent the report to the BBC and other media, just happens to be a former employee of the BBC?