# BBC’s new Arabic chief called Israeli city ‘occupied’ and rocket victims ‘settlers’

- URL: https://talkfuse.com/story/bbcs-new-arabic-chief-called-israeli-city-occupied-and-rocket-victims-settlers/
- Published: 2026-11-14T17:52:48+00:00
- Updated: 2026-11-14T19:27:09+00:00
- Original publisher: GB News (publisher lean: Right)
- Original article: https://www.gbnews.com/news/bbc-new-arabic-chief-called-israeli-city-occupied
- Topics: Europe, Middle East, Space, Technology, World

## Key points

- Mayssaloun Nassar’s past posts have renewed questions about BBC Arabic’s impartiality.
- BBC Arabic issued 34 corrections in the first five months of the Gaza war.
- The BBC praised Nassar’s appointment but did not address the posts.

## Summary

Mayssaloun Nassar, who took charge of BBC News Arabic in October, previously described Israeli cities as “occupied” and Israelis injured by rocket fire as “settlers” in social media posts while working at France 24. Her appointment has renewed scrutiny of the service’s impartiality, following past criticism of its reporting on Israel and Gaza.

In posts from 2012, Nassar referred to Beersheba as occupied and reported that 28 settlers had been hurt by 100 rockets; she also described Metula as inside occupied territory. The article says both cities are within Israel’s pre-1967 borders. It also cites a 2016 France 24 report that did not mention a Palestinian prisoner’s role in the 2001 killing of an Israeli minister, an internal BBC memo noting 19 Hamas hostage stories absent from BBC Arabic, and 34 corrections by the Arabic service in the first five months of the Gaza war. The BBC called Nassar the outstanding candidate but did not address whether her posts were reviewed.

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Summarised by TalkFuse (https://talkfuse.com/). Quote the original publisher for the reporting and link this page for the summary and discussion.