The BBC has ruled that one of its presenters violated editorial policy by describing Hamas as a �terror group,� despite the fact that the organization is formally banned and legally designated as a terrorist organization under U.K. law.

The corporation�s executive complaints unit (ECU) decided that a June 15 broadcast breached its guidelines, which prohibit BBC journalists from labeling groups as �terrorist� and instead require them to attribute such designations to others. The broadcaster justified its stance in the name of �due accuracy and impartiality.�

The policy is indefensible. Hamas is not a matter of debate or interpretation � it is on Britain�s official list of proscribed terrorist organizations, responsible for decades of suicide bombings, rocket attacks, and the October 7, 2023 cross-border massacre in Israel that killed some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and led to the abduction of 251 hostages.

�This is not impartiality, it�s distortion,� one media watchdog said. �The BBC is hiding behind semantics to avoid stating plain facts.�

The ruling directly contradicts the position of Britain�s own government. In Jerusalem just days after the October 7 massacre, Israeli President Isaac Herzog urged the BBC to correct its policy, calling Hamas �one of the worst terrorist organizations in the world.� Standing alongside him, then�Prime Minister Rishi Sunak was unequivocal: �We should call it what it is � an act of terrorism perpetrated by an evil terrorist organization, Hamas.�

Yet the BBC has refused to budge, even as it acknowledges that its presenter�s remarks have been �reported to senior management and discussed with the editorial team.�

This is only the latest scandal to engulf the broadcaster. Earlier this month, the Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting and Analysis (CAMERA) accused BBC Arabic of being �sloppy, reckless� and lacking basic judgment after it platformed Palestinian journalist Samer Elzaenen � despite his history of praising Adolf Hitler and glorifying the killing of Jews.

In a July segment, Elzaenen was presented as a credible eyewitness from Gaza, where he accused Israel of pursuing a �starvation� policy aimed at �genocide and takeover.� After backlash, the BBC admitted it �should not have used� him as a source.

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