THE BBC has been condemned for its “total silence” in failing to report on the Israeli foreign minister’s secret visit to the UK.
Gideon Sa’ar, a senior member of Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s cabinet, has been in the UK this week on a “private visit”.
On Tuesday, Sa’ar took part in an unannounced meeting with Foreign Secretary David Lammy, which was only confirmed to The National following reports from the Middle East Eye.
On Wednesday, a request for an arrest warrant for Sa’ar was submitted to Westminster Magistrate Court by the Global Legal Action Network (GLAN) and the Hind Rajab Foundation.
The charges listed in the request focused on the siege of Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza between October and December last year, which culminated in the abduction and torture of the hospital’s director, Dr Hussam Abu Safiyeh.
It is alleged that Sa’ar aided and abetted grave breaches of international humanitarian law in Palestine including torture, wilful killing and extensive destruction of property.
According to Declassified UK and the Jewish Chronicle, the Attorney General's office refused the application on Thursday afternoon.
Sa’ar was pictured meeting former Tory home secretary Priti Patel on Thursday, where he invited her to visit Israel and said she was "a staunch friend of Israel who consistently supports Israel and its right to self-defence”.
שמחתי להיפגש היום בלונדון עם @pritipatel, השרה לשעבר והיום מזכירת החוץ בממשלת הצללים מטעם המפלגה השמרנית שבאופוזיציה. פאטל היא ידידת ישראל מובהקת שמגבה בעקביות את ישראל ואת זכותה להגנה עצמית. שוחחתי עם פאטל על הדרכים להעצים את שיתוף הפעולה בלוחמת התודעה למען ישראל וצדקת דרכה… pic.twitter.com/A5wBKPZ44L
— Gideon Sa'ar | גדעון סער (@gidonsaar) April 17, 2025
Earlier on Wednesday, Sa’ar met with Phil Rosenberg, the president of the Board of Deputies of British Jews – just one day after a group of members from the board penned a letter to the Financial Times condemning the “most extremist of Israeli governments” for its actions in Palestine.
Yet the BBC has so far failed to report on Sa’ar’s visit to the UK. At the time of writing, the only outlets to have covered the trip are The National, the Middle East Eye, and the Guardian.
In its report on the letter sent by members of the Board of Deputies of British Jews, the BBC has wrongly claimed that Rosenberg "visited Israel on Thursday, where he met Israel's Minister of Foreign Affairs Gideon Saar."
The National understands that the meeting took place in London. Images shared by Rosenberg show him in the same room as where Sa'ar met Patel, and Sa'ar stated that he met with Patel "in London".
The BBC has made no mention of Sa'ar visiting the UK, or of his meeting with Lammy.
Campaigners have accused the BBC of demonstrating “a total disregard for impartiality, independence and the obligation to lead societal discussions by informing the public”.
Gary Spedding, an independent cross-party consultant on Israel-Palestine, said it was “extraordinary” that the BBC has failed to report on the visit and there was “no good reason” for a lack of coverage.
Spedding told The National: “Once again the BBC and other media outlets demonstrating they do not deserve the high levels of public trust that they enjoy.
“The total silence on Gideon Sa'ar's UK visit and his meeting with David Lammy at a time when Israel has resumed its brutal wholesale atrocity crimes and wanton slaughter of Palestinians in Gaza reveals a total disregard for impartiality, independence and the obligation to lead societal discussions by informing the public.
“The BBC and other mainstream media outlets should be reporting on these events –especially now that a private arrest warrant is being sought for Gideon Sa'ar by the Global Legal Action Network and Hind Rajab Foundation.
“Sadly, the lack of coverage is not surprising nor is it out of step with the very deliberate lack of accurate evidence-based journalism on Palestine.
“The consequences of the BBC's inadequate and often openly biased coverage of the Israel-Palestine conflict, and in failing to challenge Israeli claims and narratives, has ultimately furthered the spread of anti-Palestinian racism and the systematic dehumanisation of Palestinians.”
Gearóid Ó Cuinn, director of GLAN – one of the groups behind the application for Sa'ar's arrest warrant – also condemned the BBC for failing to report on the visit.
He told The National: “This absence of reporting on the UK’s political, economic and military participation in Israel's stated plans to remove the Palestinian population is abhorrent.
“It means the erosion of key elements of the rules-based order, like the prohibition on collective punishment and other important safeguards, are no longer deemed to be of public or political importance.
“We are now descending a slippery slope, one that favours might.”
The BBC has been contacted for comment.
