THE BBC has admitted it was “wrong” after reporting that Israel did not start the 1967 war in which the country occupied the West Bank, East Jerusalem, Gaza, and the Golan Heights.
The Six-Day War, which ran from June 5-10 1967, began when, in response “to an apparent mobilisation of its Arab neighbours, Israel staged a sudden preemptive air assault that destroyed more than 90 percent Egypt’s air force on the tarmac”, according to the Encyclopaedia Britannica.
It goes on: “A similar air assault incapacitated the Syrian air force … Within three days the Israelis had achieved an overwhelming victory on the ground, capturing the Gaza Strip and all of the Sinai Peninsula up to the east bank of the Suez Canal.”
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However, the BBC reported that the war was not started by Israel but began following an attack on the country.
An apology issued on the BBC’s website acknowledged the mistake and said it was made during an episode of the Political Thinking with Nick Robinson podcast which was put on BBC iPlayer and BBC Sounds on June 13.
The correction reads: “In an episode with international lawyer and judge Theodor Meron, there was a discussion about the 1967 Arab-Israeli war where we said that Israel came under attack.
“Although the circumstances leading up to the 1967 war are complex, it was wrong to say Israel was attacked.
“We apologise for this mistake.”
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Previously, analysis by The National found that the BBC had in 2024 issued more corrections for its coverage of Israel and Palestine than for any other topic.
The Six-Day War saw Israel occupy the Palestinian lands of the West Bank, East Jerusalem, and Gaza, and the Syrian land of the Golan Heights.
In 2024, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) issued a ruling saying that Israel’s presence in the occupied Palestinian territories was “illegal” and restitution would include the return of all lands, the evacuation of all settlers, the dismantling of border walls, and compensation from Israel where any of this would be impossible.