Sharon snubs BBC over ‘violation of journalistic ethics’

ISRAELI Prime Minister Ariel Sharon will boycott the BBC when he visits London next week.

Israel has not invited the BBC to Sharon’s briefing after talks with Prime Minister Tony Blair. The BBC has asked for an interview with Sharon during the visit, but this request is expected to be turned down, an Israeli newspaper has claimed.

The director of the Government Press Office, Danny Seaman, said that Israel had decided not to co-operate with the BBC in protest against “its anti-Israel coverage, which is characterised by violation of journalistic ethics and the broadcasting of baseless claims”.

The Israeli government decided two weeks ago to make it more difficult for the BBC to cover events relating to this country by, among other methods, banning official spokesmen from appearing on the network.

Israel was angry over the repeated airing of a BBC World film that discussed Israel’s nuclear policy and compared it to that of fallen Iraqi ruler Saddam Hussein.

The film also charged that Israel has used unconventional weapons against the Palestinians.

Meanwhile, Palestinian Security Minister Mohammad Dahlan has urged Israel to release thousands of Palestinian prisoners and withdraw from more occupied areas, saying this was vital to bolster a shaky truce with militants.

Dahlan said he would raise the issue in a meeting with Israeli Defence Minister Shaul Mofaz.

The main Palestinian militant group Hamas has warned that the three- month truce which was declared under intense international pressure to further a US-backed road map to peace would unravel if Israel did not loosen criteria under which prisoners could go free.

Dahlan said that Israel’s failure to free prisoners had led Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas to cancel a meeting with his counterpart Ariel Sharon on Wednesday.