BBC admits claim that Israel is responsible for vaccinating Palestinians is wrong.
By Algemeiner Staff
The BBC has acknowledged that its claim that Israel is responsible for vaccinating Palestinians against Covid-19 is mistaken.
The UK Jewish Chronicle reported Wednesday that, responding to complaints stemming from an earlier interview, the BBC admitted in a statement that the claim is false, saying, “We suggested that under the Oslo Accords, Palestinian healthcare is ultimately the responsibility of the Israeli government.”
“Although there is a wider dispute over the issue, the Accords, which Israel signed with the Palestine Liberation Organization, give the Palestine Authority oversight of public health under the principles of self-determination,” the network said.
The assertion has gained considerable coverage in the media in recent weeks, with some journalists, activists, NGOs, and others attacking Israel for vaccinating its own population but not citizens of the Palestinian Authority. Jewish groups have criticized such claims as “grist” for anti-Semitic conspiracists.
The BBC correction was issued after anchor Shaun Ley, in an interview with journalist Jonathan Sacerdoti for the program Dateline London broadcast on Jan. 16, criticized Sacerdoti for saying that the PA alone was responsible for vaccinating Palestinians.