In his interview with the British newspaper 'The Daily Mail' on Thursday morning, President Yitzhak Herzog criticized the BBC for its refusal to designate Hamas as a terrorist organization. He emphasized, "What else do they need to admit that we are dealing with the worst terrorist organization in the world?"

Herzog expressed his dissatisfaction with the BBC's reporting, stating, "In my opinion, the BBC's way of reporting is appalling. The fact that the channel does not recognize Hamas as a terrorist organization requires a legal battle and a total public battle. It is unbelievable. What other kind of torture do they want before they decide it's a terrorist organization?" Herzog also highlighted the gruesome realities of Hamas violence, saying, "I've seen severed heads, I've seen horrifying pictures, children shot, and painful stories of entire families wiped off the face of the earth."

The BBC claims to be impartial and independent…

But we were unable to verify those claims.

Instead they choose to believe a genocidal terrorist organization ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/Hi8jc4cLiy

— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) October 18, 2023

During a meeting with the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Herzog raised the issue, pointing out that while modern democracies like Israel and the UK cannot interfere in everything, there should be a call for correction regarding the BBC's stance. He argued that Hamas should be defined as a terrorist organization by the BBC due to its global significance.

This controversy erupted following protests outside the BBC building in London earlier this week, where demonstrators voiced their displeasure with the network's policy regarding the coverage of the conflict between Israel and Hamas. Despite the UK government's designation of Hamas as a terrorist organization in 2021, the BBC's refusal to use the term "terrorists" to describe them caused significant outrage.

The protesters chanted slogans such as "Hamas are terrorists" and "Shame!" during the demonstration. Johnny Gold, a former BBC sports announcer, and broadcaster who is Jewish, strongly criticized the BBC's stance, alleging that Hamas commits horrific acts of violence. John Simpson, a senior BBC correspondent, and head of the network's foreign news desk had previously stated that calling someone a 'terrorist' implies taking a side and ceasing to treat the issue impartially.

“Hello BBC, Israel did it. We’ll provide evidence later, trust me bro.” pic.twitter.com/Y1Njk6Vd0U

— Chris Rose (@ArchRose90) October 18, 2023

Yesterday the network suspended from broadcasting six Arabic-language BBC news reporters who published anti-Israeli posts. "We are investigating this matter urgently," the BBC said, "We take allegations of violations of our editorial and social media guidelines very seriously. If and when we find that such violations have indeed occurred, we will act, including taking disciplinary measures." It should be noted that these are articles in the network's Arabic language.