A FORMER first minister has called out the BBC for a headline it placed on a story after a woman was reportedly shot dead by Israeli troops in the occupied West Bank.
An American 26-year-old woman died in hospital after being shot in the head in the Palestinian territory on Friday, Dr Ward Basalat told the Associated Press.
Witnesses and Palestinian media reported that the woman was shot by Israeli troops while attending a pro-Palestinian demonstration against settlement expansion in the northern West Bank.
The BBC reported on the story leading with the headline “American activist shot dead in occupied West Bank”.
The corporation has subsequently been called out for its editorial approach by Humza Yousaf for not mentioning that Israeli troops were suspected to have carried out the shooting in the headline.
Yousaf shared the story and commented: “Killed by who?”
The SNP MSP, whose wife Nadia El-Nakla is Palestinian, has been consistently vocal about the ongoing atrocities in Gaza and the West Bank.
The Israeli military did not immediately comment on the shooting.
Dr Fouad Naffa, the head of the hospital, also confirmed the death of an American citizen.
The woman was believed to have been shot while attending the protest against settlement expansion in the Palestinian town of Beita, north of Ramallah in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.
Dr Basalat, an A&E doctor at the hospital, said he treated her for a gunshot wound to the head and that she died shortly after arrival.
A month ago, American citizen Amado Sison was shot in the leg by Israeli forces, he said, as he tried to flee tear gas and live fire.
The BBC has been approached for comment.
