BBC receives complaint about headline over fatal stabbing of Israelis

Israel has complained to the BBC about its headline in the wake of the fatal stabbing of two Israelis this weekend, after the British national broadcaster was accused of misplacing the story’s emphasis.

Israel’s Government Press Office and the Israeli embassy in London both lodged complaints about the online headline, which read: “Palestinian shot dead after Jerusalem attack kills two.” 

The headline was later changed several times, after Israeli authorities said the choice of words did not reflect the events of Saturday’s attack.

GPO chief Nitzan Hen sent a strongly-worded letter to the head of the BBC’s bureau in Jerusalem, Richard Palmer, denouncing the headline as “unethical”.

The BBC said it had “identified that the headline didn’t accurately reflect the events, nor the details reported in our online story, so changed it of our own accord”.

Al-Jazeera was also lambasted for tweeting: “Palestinian shot dead after fatal stabbing in Jerusalem; 2 Israeli victims also killed.” When social media users pounced, the network apologised and changed it to: “Two Israelis killed in stabbing attack; Palestinian suspect shot dead.”