After Hamas gunmen entered Gaza’s al-Shifa Hospital and executed Mahmud al-Sharif and Walid Hamdiya in their beds, most media reports spun the story as a further example of the degenerating security situation in the Palestinian areas. And though Human Rights Watch slammed the murders for violating the hospital’s neutrality, the BBC took its coverage in a different direction:
The BBC’s Alan Johnston in Gaza says the allegation that Mr Sharif gave information to Israel would have been a great source of shame to his relatives, and they may have acted to try to restore the family’s honour.
The Beeb was more concerned about the neutrality of the hospitals last year when the IDF arrested fugitives in hospitals. (One wanted Palestinian was using the hospital as a base while the other feigned sickness.) In that report, the BBC wrote:
There have been several similar raids in recent months weeks, increasing fears among medical staff and human rights groups that hospitals are no longer neutral ground.
But the Israelis say Palestinians are violating international law by allowing militants to use hospitals as sanctuaries.
Of course, there’s no comparison between the execution of two injured men in their beds and the arrest of terrorists hiding in hospitals. We only wonder about the BBC’s recent lack of concern for the brual violation of a hospital’s neutrality.
