The Jerusalem Post reports:
The editor of an Arabic daily newspaper published in London said in an interview on Lebanese television that he would dance in Trafalgar Square if Iranian missiles hit Israel.
Talking about Iran’s nuclear capability on ANB Lebanese television on June 27, Abd Al-Bari Atwan, editor-in-chief of Al-Quds Al-Arabi newspaper, said, “If the Iranian missiles strike Israel, by Allah, I will go to Trafalgar Square and dance with delight.”
In the interview, Bari Atwan was asked if he thought there is a process of detente [vis-a-vis Iran] and an American-Iranian inclination to reach a deal on Iran’s nuclear ambitions….
“If a war breaks out, where will the Iranians retaliate? If Iran is able to retaliate, it will burn the oil wells, block the Strait of Hormuz, attack the American bases in the Gulf and, Allah willing, it will attack Israel, as well,” Bari Atwan continued.
Bari Atwan founded the pan-Arab daily in London in 1989, and today the paper has a circulation of around 50,000. He is also a regular commentator on Sky News and BBC News 24.
Sky News refused to comment about what its contributors say on other forums. The BBC told the Jerusalem Post that it accepts the fact that some contributors will not hold impartial views on issues they discuss.
Sky News and the BBC have every right to use controversial commentators to provide news analysis and Abd Al-Bari Atwan certainly holds views that many would find disagreeable. However, we believe that Bari Atwan’s advocacy of a potential Iranian nuclear strike on Israel and his apparent desire to publicly celebrate a nuclear genocide goes beyond acceptable boundaries.
There is also no moral equivalence between those who may advocate military action against Iran’s nuclear programme as a last resort and someone who expresses joy at the prospect of Israel being wiped out in its entirety.
Please call for the removal of Abd Al-Bari Atwan from Sky News and the BBC’s list of credible commentators and analysts.
Send your comments to Sky News viewers’ editor Paul Bromley – [email protected] and the BBC Complaints website – http://www.bbc.co.uk/complaints (direct your official complaint to News 24).
