FURIOUS MPs yesterday blasted the BBC over its “disgraceful” description of a top Hamas terrorist as “moderate” and “pragmatic”.
Labour and Tory MPs slammed the “grotesque” account of Ismail Haniyeh, which was repeated multiple times on radio and published online on Wednesday.
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It came after a suspected Israeli strike killed the 61-year-old terror chief while he visited Iran for the swearing in of new president, Masoud Pezeshkian.
Haniyeh was among the founding members of Hamas and led the group’s political wing from luxurious Qatar.
A BBC article stated: “Despite his tough rhetoric, he was generally seen by analysts as moderate and pragmatic, compared to the more hardline Gaza-based leaders.”
Labour MP and former soldier Mike Tapp told The Sun: “Ismail Haniyeh was a dedicated antisemite and the leader of a proscribed, genocidal terrorist group which on 7 October perpetrated the deadliest massacre of Jews since the Holocaust.
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“To describe such an individual as ‘moderate and pragmatic’ is grotesque and an absolute disgrace.”
Tory Shadow Minister Greg Smith added: “It’s absolutely outrageous for the BBC to dare call a Hamas terror chief moderate.
“In what reality can the head of an organisation responsible for so much death, sexual violence and hate be called moderate?
“Hamas want to wipe Israel from the face of the earth and kill Jewish people simply because they are Jewish, yet the BBC think they’re ‘pragmatic’.
“Simply unacceptable.”
The BBC has been contacted for comment.
