BBC Arabic’s new chief under fire for calling Israeli cities ‘occupied’ and Israeli citizens ‘settlers’

The new head of the BBC’s Arabic department is facing criticism over social media posts calling Israeli civilians who were injured in rocket attacks “settlers” and Israeli cities “occupied.”

By World Israel News Staff

The BBC‘s newly appointed head of Arabic news is facing criticism after the emergence of past social media posts in which she described Israeli cities as “occupied” and civilians wounded in rocket attacks as “settlers.”

Mayssaloun Nassar, a French-Lebanese journalist who took charge of BBC News Arabic in October, made the statements while working for France 24, according to an investigation published Saturday by Britain’s Daily Telegraph.

The posts date to November 2012, during Operation Pillar of Defense, when Israel and Hamas were engaged in fighting in the Gaza Strip.

In one post, Nassar referred to the southern Israeli city of Beersheba as the “occupied city of Beersheba.” The following day, she reported Israeli figures indicating that 100 rockets had landed and 28 “settlers” had been wounded.

On November 21, 2012, Nassar described a projectile launched from Lebanon as targeting “Israeli settlements.” Shortly afterward, she reported that another projectile had landed in Metula, a town near the Lebanese border, which she described as being “inside the occupied territories.”

Both Beersheba and Metula are located within Israel’s internationally recognized pre-1967 borders, rather than in territories captured during the Six-Day War.

The Telegraph also highlighted a France 24 broadcast from September 2016, when Nassar introduced a report featuring the wife of Ahed Abu Ghoulmeh, a jailed Palestinian terrorist serving a life sentence for his involvement in the 2001 assassination of Israeli Tourism Minister Rehavam Ze’evi.

Nassar’s introduction mentioned Abu Ghoulmeh’s imprisonment without explaining the crime for which he had been convicted. The subsequent report, presented by another journalist, portrayed the prisoner sympathetically without mentioning his involvement in the assassination.

The revelations come as BBC Arabic undergoes changes following allegations of systematic bias in its coverage of Israel.

A report prepared by Michael Prescott, a former adviser to the BBC‘s editorial standards committee, identified substantial differences between the corporation’s English and Arabic coverage of the Israel-Hamas war.

Among its findings was that 19 stories concerning hostages abducted by Hamas appeared on the BBC‘s English-language website but were not published by BBC Arabic.

The broadcaster has also faced criticism over the use of contributors who previously expressed antisemitic views on social media.

In response to the controversy, the BBC reorganized its Arabic operation, strengthened editorial oversight and introduced additional procedures for checking the backgrounds of contributors.

The pro-Israel media watchdog CAMERA, which has repeatedly challenged BBC Arabic‘s reporting, expressed concern over Nassar’s appointment.

A spokesman said the organization had “no confidence” in her ability to resolve the service’s editorial problems and characterized her previous descriptions of Israeli communities as “false and delegitimizing.”

According to The Telegraph, BBC Arabic issued 34 corrections during the first five months of the Gaza war after incorrectly referring to Israeli communities within the country’s pre-1967 borders as settlements or their inhabitants as settlers.

The controversy follows broader scrutiny of the BBC‘s reporting standards. In March, BBC World Service executive Fiona Crack acknowledged that the Arabic service had made mistakes but defended its importance as a source of independent reporting and Israeli perspectives in the Middle East.

Nassar succeeded Edgard Jallad, who had served as acting editorial head while the BBC searched for a permanent replacement.

Asked by The Telegraph whether Nassar’s previous social media statements had been examined before her appointment, and whether the terminology she used was consistent with BBC editorial guidelines, the corporation did not directly answer either question.

Instead, a BBC spokesman defended the appointment, describing Nassar as the “outstanding candidate for the role” and praising her journalistic experience and leadership record.