BBC Pulls Documentary That Humanizes Palestinian Children

London (Quds News Network)- The BBC has removed its documentary Gaza: How To Survive A Warzone from iPlayer following Israeli orders over the identity of its young narrator. The move follows complaints that 13-year-old Abdullah Al-Yazouri, who featured in the film, is the son of a minister in the government in Gaza.

Chris Doyle, director of the Council for Arab-British Understanding (CAABU), condemned the BBC’s decision. “This documentary humanized Palestinian children in Gaza, giving valuable insight into life in a warzone,” he said. He urged the BBC to conduct its review independently and reinstate the film.

The controversy escalated after it was revealed that the censorship was after Israeli ambassador Tzipi Hotovely had intervened, pushing UK Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy to pressure the BBC. David Collier was the one, who started the campaign against the 13-year-old boy and his father, Dr. Ayman Alyazouri, the Palestinian deputy agriculture minister. A group of 45 zionist journalists and media professionals also pressured the BBC to pull the documentary, calling Alyazouri a “terrorist leader.”

Dr. Alyazouri is a technocrat with a background in science. He studied at British universities and worked in the UAE before joining the Palestinian government.

In a statement on Friday, the BBC defended its actions. “There have been continuing questions raised about the programme,” it said. “We are conducting further due diligence with the production company. The programme will not be available on iPlayer while this is taking place.”