ACTIVISTS in Scotland have accused the BBC of "building consent for genocide" at a protest held against Israel's targeting of Palestinian journalists.
Campaign groups Mothers Against Genocide Scotland and Scotland for Palestine organised the demonstration in response to the news at the weekend that Israel targeted and killed six journalists in Gaza, including a prominent Al Jazeera reporter who had previously been threatened by Israel.
Campaigners accused the BBC of "being complicit in the genocide" as they banged pots and pans outside the corporation's Pacific Quay building on Monday evening.
The other journalists who were killed were Al Jazeera correspondent Mohammed Qreiqeh and camera operators Ibrahim Zaher and Mohammed Noufal, as well as freelance journalists Moamen Aliwa and Mohammad al-Khaldi.
Israel’s military confirmed killing al-Sharif, alleging he was with Hamas – an accusation Al Jazeera has denied.
According to the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), a non-profit organisation based in New York, 192 journalists have been killed since the start of the conflict on October 7, 2023.
At least 184 of those journalists were Palestinians killed by Israel.
The CPJ added that the attack on Sunday raises the number of Al Jazeera journalists killed by Israel since October 7, 2023 to 11.
The organisers behind Monday's demonstration accused the BBC of "building consent for genocide" in its reporting on Israel's brutal assault on Gaza.
It comes after a landmark report from the Centre for Media Monitoring (CfMM) showed "a pattern of bias, double standards and silencing of Palestinian voices" in the BBC's coverage of Israel's assault on Gaza.
The report also found that the BBC gave Israeli deaths 33 times more coverage per fatality, despite Gaza suffering 34 times more casualties than Israel.
Further, the broadcaster was found to have interrupted or dismissed claims of genocide more than 100 times – while only 3% of articles analysed by the CfMM used the terms "war crimes" in relation to Israeli violence against Palestinians.
Mothers Against Genocide Scotland, one of the organisers behind the protest, take part in pot banging demonstrations at more than 20 locations across the country.
Made up of parents and children, the group was inspired to take action after Palestinian journalist Bisan Owda urged people around the world to bang pots to highlight Israel's forced starvation of Palestinians in Gaza.
A spokesperson for Mothers Against Genocide told The National: "The murder of these journalists made us decide to target the BBC building for the pot banging last night.
"Sadly, the BBC's editorial line keeps parroting the Israeli excuses for these war crimes and, in doing so, seeks to diminish the murders or pour doubt on those who have been murdered.
"This illustrates how the media is complicit through its reporting and how the BBC builds consent for genocide.
"As parents, we can't idly sit by and watch war crimes, including the collective punishment of men, women and children, continue to be misrepresented on our media."
"But their killing is also a damning indictment of the BBC and other ‘mainstream’ media in failing for so long to report the slaughter, to call it a genocide, and to defend all those courageous journalists who have given their lives in bringing the truth of the regime’s crimes to light.
"In abandoning them, and evading their own basic responsibilities as journalists to report the horrors being inflicted on Gaza, the BBC are deeply complicit in the genocide."
Fraz, a pro-Palestine activist who attended the protest, told The National: "It’s a gut punch every time you hear about yet more Palestinian journalists being targeted by Israel. The tactic is clear, so silence any news coming out of Gaza to hide the atrocities.
"This is bad enough, then you have globally respected media bodies like the BBC who further help to suppress and distort the news through lack of coverage or simply prioritising Israel over Palestine."
The BBC was contacted for comment.
