French TV channel deletes clip of journalist criticising Israel’s bombardment of Gaza
Paris (QNN)- A French television channel has deleted a part of an interview with well-known journalist Alain Gresh, who criticised Israeli occupation over its deadly bombardment of the besieged Gaza Strip.
On Sunday, Gresh, the Orient XXI Middle East media website director and former editor-in-chief of French newspaper Le Monde diplomatique, appeared on popular broadcaster BFMTV which questioned him about the escalation of tension between ‘Israel’ and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad movement.
“First, we must remember that this escalation has been triggered by Israel, without Israel – at the time it conducted its operations – having suffered any attack,” Gresh said.
“This is the fourth or fifth war that Israel has waged against Gaza, with hundreds of people killed.”
“The Palestinian people live under occupation, in Gaza as in the West Bank. And this situation can only lead to violence, to confrontations.”
However, the interview conducted earlier in the day has been “unavailable” online since Sunday evening. Moreover, Gresh has shared on Twitter the fact that his invitation to speak to the French television channel again on Monday was cancelled.
correction: @bfm a annulé une autre interview prévue pour ce matin https://t.co/6Cnj8ppTTp
— Nouvelles d'Orient (@alaingresh) August 8, 2022
Gresh said he thinks BFMTV removed the clip because of his views on ‘Israel’, French left-wing newspaper Libération’s fact-checking service CheckNews reported.
“Today, the subject of Palestine arouses fears, especially when approached as I do in a bit of a radical way,” he said.
BFMTV told CheckNews the “entire segment is, of course, available on [streaming service] RMC BFM PLAY and, therefore, accessible to whoever wants it”.
BFMTV owner Altice France’s communications director, François Raineteau, said the clip in question was deleted “to avoid any manipulation” since it “was truncated [cut down], not whole”.
Raineteau added that there is “no censorship on BFMTV” and that “all opinions and all parties to the conflict are present on air, in interviews or in stories, as well as on our site”.
In the uncensored video posted on Twitter, Gresh added, “Unfortunately, Israel does not learn any lesson. Israel does not agree to comply with UN resolutions which asks it to withdraw from the occupied territories and complains of being attacked, which is all the same a paradox.”
Internet garde des traces de tout.
L'interview supprimée, ou censurée, de @alaingresh sur @BFMTV
Pour Alain Gresh, "c'est Israël qui est à l'initiative" de l'escalade… " https://t.co/n068ZcbFzA pic.twitter.com/HaSfWr66PJ
— Vert Naïf (@VertNaif) August 8, 2022
Translation: “The internet keeps track of everything. The deleted, or censored interview of Alain Gresh on BFMTV. For Alain Gresh, Israel started this escalation…”
This past weekend, Israeli occupation launched a 3-day deadly aggression on Gaza, killing 48 Palestinians, including 16 children, and injuring over 360 civilians, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry.
