LONDON: The UK press regulator Ofcom is facing mounting calls to investigate Sky News journalist Kay Burley over accusations of misquoting Husam Zomlot, the head of the Palestinian Mission to the UK.
Burley attributed the comment “Israel had it coming” to Zomlot during multiple interviews, primarily within the context of recent incidents between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
The comment has sparked outrage and controversy among the public, with various media organizations criticizing Burley for what they see as a biased and inappropriate statement in a news context.
The non-profit press monitoring organization Middle East Monitor has made several calls to the UK press regulator to investigate the matter and take appropriate action in response to Burley’s comment.
MEMO claimed that “there is no evidence that Zomlot ever made this provocative statement.”
It added: “It has been the basis of several interviews with Conservative and Labour MPs, during which Burley badgered her guests over the issue of sharing a platform with Zomlot knowing that the Palestinian ambassador said ‘Israel had it coming.’”
The comment ascribed to the Palestinian ambassador by the UK broadcaster was used to refer to his interview with CNN’s Christiane Amanpour conducted on Oct. 8.
During the interview, Amanpour asked Zomlot if he would condemn the killing of civilians, to which he responded that “Israel knew that this was coming their way,” according to a full transcript of the interview published on a US, non-partisan news website, RealClearPolitics.
Zomlot added: “The loss of civilian life is tragic on all sides, and what is happening is extremely worrying and very tragic. And as we speak, the loss of life, you’ve counted 70 Israeli, there’s more than 200 Palestinian deaths so far, and more than 1,600 entire residential compounds are being wiped out.
“This is a war crime committed by Israel. What is more tragic, or equally tragic, is the blindness and the deafness of the world and the international community for so many years of the warnings we have been saying that this was coming. Israel knew that this was coming their way.”
British journalist and co-founder of Novara Media, Aaron Bastani, called Burley’s remarks an effort to get a “scoop,” in a post on X.
Other journalists have pointed out how controversy surrounding the remark underscored the sensitive nature of reporting on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the need for journalists to maintain objectivity and professionalism in their reporting.
The Palestinian ambassador has not yet issued a statement regarding the issue.
