The BBC has refused to broadcast a national appeal for donations to the Gaza relief effort, due to fears that it could damage their impartiality.
The Times has reported that the corporation feared that airing the appeal by the Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC) would fuel existing allegations of a pro Palestinian bias in its coverage of the conflict in the Middle East.
The DEC appeal was planned after Israel’s three-week bombing campaign on Gaza. It would have shown people left homeless or without food or water.
The DEC is made of the 12 largest aid charities who join forces in international emergancies. The corporation have a deal with the charities dating back to 1963 giving them two minutes of free airtime to broadcast appeals.
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According to The Times, all broadcasters must agree to show the appeal, if one does not agree then it cannot be aired.
In a statement, the corporation refused to take the whole blame for blocking the broadcast. Sources claim that both BSkyB and ITV were unsure.
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