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BBC Admits It Was Wrong About Israel’s ‘Duty’ to Vaccinate Palestinians
Frontpagemagazine ^ | Feb 24, 2021 | Hugh Fitzgerald

Posted on 02/24/2021 4:21:04 AM PST by SJackson

Weeping, wailing and gnashing of teeth at BBC headquarters.

It took exactly a month: from January 16 to February 16. On that date in mid-February, the BCC did the unthinkable: it admitted it had been wrong. It was on Shaun Ley’s BBC show on January 16, when he accused the journalist Jonathan Sacerdoti of being wrong in insisting that Israel had no duty – according to the Oslo Accords — to inoculate the Palestinians with the coronavirus vaccine. What should have been checked on right away – it would have taken no more than a few minutes to do a simple internet search for the necessary information – took the BBC several weeks. Why? one wonders. The satisfying story, of chagrin and embarrassment at the BBC, which had been proven unfair to Israel yet again (Example #11,863), is here: “BBC Admits Claim That Israel Is Responsible for Vaccinating Palestinians Is Wrong, Algemeiner, February 17, 2021:

The BBC has acknowledged that its claim that Israel is responsible for vaccinating Palestinians against Covid-19 is mistaken.

The UK paper the 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.”

No, BBC, you didn’t “suggest” that Palestinian healthcare “is ultimately the responsibility of the Israeli government.” You said, you claimed, you insisted – you didn’t just “suggest.” Don’t start up again, with attempts to mitigate the offense, in what should be, by rights, an embarrassed and full-throated apology.

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….

Ah, yes. The “Accords.” The Oslo Accords. The Oslo Accords of 1995. Hidden from view, were they? No copy could be found at Bush House? Have you heard of doing research online? How many thousands of people work for BBC Radio? Not one could be bothered to do an internet search on the subject for almost a month? I just did it myself, to see how long it would take. I put in the search box “Israel,” “Oslo, “the PA,” and “coronavirus vaccine.” It took five seconds of typing. And here is what, one second later, appeared on my screen, and could have come up for you, too, at Bush House, had you only tried, way back on January 16, when the subject was first brought up on the BBC, or at any time in the weeks following. I repeat: it took five seconds.

Here’s what came up:

The Oslo Accords that were signed by Israel and the Palestinian Liberation Organization in the 1990s established the Palestinian autonomous governing body, the Palestinian Authority (“PA”), divided Judea and Samaria into three distinct areas and set out the jurisdiction and responsibility of each party in the governance of the area.

Article 17 of the Israeli-Palestinian Interim Agreement on the West Bank and Gaza Strip (“the Interim Agreement”), signed in September 1995, establish the respective duties of each party in terms of health care (cf. Israel-Palestinian Negotiations: Interim Agreement on the West Bank and the Gaza Strip (Oslo II) (September 28, 1995), Article 17). Health care, and specifically the vaccination of the Palestinian population, is under the purview of the PA. Israel and the PA agreed to cooperate and exchange information between health systems, and specifically with regards to epidemics and contagious diseases:

1. Powers and responsibilities in the sphere of Health in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip will be transferred to the Palestinian side, including the health insurance system.

2. The Palestinian side shall continue to apply the present standards of vaccination of Palestinians and shall improve them according to internationally accepted standards in the field, taking into account WHO recommendations. In this regard, the Palestinian side shall continue the vaccination of the population with the vaccines listed in Schedule 3.

Got that? Oslo Accords, 1995, Article 17, pps. 1 and 2.

Algemeiner concludes:

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.

A puzzlement: when did Shaun Ley himself find out that he had wrongly criticized Jonathan Sacerdoti “for saying that the PA alone was responsible for vaccinating Palestinians”? We’d like to know the exact date. And why didn’t Shaun Ley himself, once he knew, apologize on the air for his misinformation on a matter of such importance, one that could — and in fact did — lead to a spread of a variant of the antisemitic “blood libel,” with Israel in the dock, accused of “withholding vaccines” it had a duty — so it was claimed — to provide and, therefore, the Jewish state was guilty of the murder of innocent Palestinians? Is such sloppy journalism to be forgiven quite so easily? Will there be any consequenes for Shaun Ley?

Meanwhile, I hope there is weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth at Bush House (that’s BBC headquarters). There have been so many things the BBC ought to have apologized for, when it comes to Israel, but so rarely does it do the right, the handsome thing. In my next installment, I’d like to describe a representative handful of BBC employees who over many decades have been particularly unjust to Israel. Lest we forgive. Lest we forget.


TOPICS: Israel; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: bidenvoters

1 posted on 02/24/2021 4:21:04 AM PST by SJackson
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To: dennisw; Cachelot; Nix 2; veronica; Catspaw; knighthawk; Alouette; Optimist; weikel; Lent; GregB; ..
Middle East and terrorism, occasional political and Jewish issues Ping List. High Volume If you’d like to be on or off, please FR mail me.
2 posted on 02/24/2021 4:21:34 AM PST by SJackson (If they bring a knife to the fight, we bring a gun...folks in Philly like a good brawl, BH Obama)
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To: SJackson

Israel vaccinated its own citizens, whether Jewish or Arab or other. The vaccination queues had no discrimination.

The Palestinian territories didn’t want to be part of Israel.

So ths Israelis aren’t under any obligation to give them vaccines


3 posted on 02/24/2021 4:58:37 AM PST by Cronos
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To: SJackson
Speaking of the Beeb, from a few days ago...

BBC TV licence fee demands leaves blind war hero, 92, terrified of bailiff bullies

Brits need to have themselves a tea party of their own...

4 posted on 02/24/2021 5:04:40 AM PST by mewzilla (Break out the mustard seeds. )
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To: SJackson

Do the accords impose any duty on the Palestinians not to randomly murder Israeli citizens? Or to not launch rockets into populated areas of Israel? Can we check with the residents of Sderot and see how they feel about ensuring the safety and welfare of Palestinians?


5 posted on 02/24/2021 5:28:58 AM PST by Spok (All free men are equal only in their freedom; everything else is up to them.)
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To: SJackson

If down the road it turns out that the vaccines have dread side effects, Israel would be accused of purposely doing this to the Palestinians. PA must make their own decisions regarding the vaccine and provide it themselves.


6 posted on 02/24/2021 6:10:54 AM PST by marron
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To: SJackson

There is no vaccine for a corona virus. Why is there no vaccine for the common cold, or HIV after 40 years?

Because it isn’t possible. Why bother with a 99% recovery rate?

I’ve slept with my wife for months. She had it. She’s a so-called front worker. Perhaps I do have it, but’s expressing itself in a different way.

(Both my wife and daughter lost their sense of smell- a tell time indication-I haven’t yet and neither has my son, thank God)

BTW, they have both recovered perfectly AFAICT.

My son seems to not having symptoms either.

Weird, but true.


7 posted on 02/24/2021 6:14:31 AM PST by Concentrate (ex-texan was right and Always Right was wrong, which is why we lost the election. )
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To: Spok

Yes. Also to cease excitement. In the press and the schools. Like most of the Oslo agreement, the Palestinian Authority has been in total violation for a quarter century. Not a very good indication of their capability and willingness to govern themselves.


8 posted on 02/24/2021 6:47:35 AM PST by SJackson (If they bring a knife to the fight, we bring a gun...folks in Philly like a good brawl, BH Obama)
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To: marron
If down the road it turns out that the vaccines have dread side effects, Israel would be accused of purposely doing this to the Palestinians

They'll be blamed for doing it to the world, not just the palestinians. As will President Trump

9 posted on 02/24/2021 6:48:27 AM PST by SJackson (If they bring a knife to the fight, we bring a gun...folks in Philly like a good brawl, BH Obama)
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To: SJackson



10 posted on 02/24/2021 9:02:55 AM PST by Songcraft
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To: Cronos

No I think the can make the vaccines available, but it is up the PA the vaccinate their own people, Not Israel.


11 posted on 02/24/2021 9:06:40 AM PST by Captain Peter Blood (https://www.freerepublic.com/focus/bloggers/3804407/posts?q=1&;page)
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To: SJackson

My guess is that after the Jewish and Arab Israelis get vaccinated, then Israel will help the Paleostinians in Gaza and West Bank get vaccinated for Cov19. Maybe most will turn it down as being a Jewish plot.


12 posted on 02/24/2021 1:02:03 PM PST by dennisw
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To: mewzilla

The license fee is 159 GBP per year. It would be ok if the Beeb stuck to just the news.

Though even then, when I lived there, it was worth it as the beeb does sponsor stuff that wouldn’t be made for commercial TV.

What happened to that man though is wrong, absolutely wrong


13 posted on 02/24/2021 11:07:41 PM PST by Cronos
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To: dennisw; SJackson

Islamic cleric: People who are vaccinated for COVID have ‘become homosexuals’

It’s a fiendish plot to make Mohammedans gay.

That would be a great idea for a TV show, eh? The gay Mohammedan — like the aggressive gay duo in Seinfeld :)


14 posted on 02/24/2021 11:14:11 PM PST by Cronos
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