By Qais Abu Samra
RAMALLAH, Palestine (AA) – A Palestinian parliamentarian said the conduct of a British TV host has exposed the Western “bias” towards Israel amid its deadly offensive on the Gaza Strip.
Mustafa Barghouti appeared in a Jan. 3 interview with TalkTV host Julia Hartley-Brewer to discuss the Israeli war on the Gaza Strip.
A clip of the interview showed the TV host shouting over the top of her guest and accusing him of being uncomfortable listening to women speak.
“The conduct of the British host exposes the bias of some media outlets in the West towards Israel by repeating the Israeli narrative without the slightest degree of professional examination,” Barghouti told Anadolu.
“I believe the interview served the Palestinian people by exposing the war crimes being committed by Israel despite the host’s interruptions and attempts to silence me,” he said.
“The TV host sought to silence the Palestinian voice, but I succeeded in conveying our message. Her behavior reflects racism as she behaved in a racist manner."
The conduct of the British host has sparked outrage with more than 15,000 complaints sent to the Office of Communications, commonly known as Ofcom.
The Palestinian lawmaker termed the TV host’s comments as “racist, absurd and meaningless.”
“Her comments reflected ingrained racism against Palestinians, Arabs, and Muslims,'' he said, stressing that the British host acted unprofessionally.
- Israeli failure
Barghouti, the leader of the Palestinian National Initiative, which describes itself as a democratic movement of non-violent resistance to the Israeli occupation, said Israel has failed to achieve any of its declared goals in the Gaza Strip.
“After 100 days of aggression and massacres, Israel has failed to achieve any of its goals” in Gaza, he said.
“It failed to achieve the main goal of ethnic cleansing and forcefully displacing Gaza’s population to Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula.”
The Palestinian MP said Israel has also failed to uproot the Palestinian resistance in the Gaza Strip.
“It also failed to exert control over the areas its tanks invaded,” he added.
“Israel also failed to free its hostages held in Gaza,” Barghouti said. “Hostages will not be set free until Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails are released.”
Israel has launched relentless air and ground attacks on the Gaza Strip since a cross-border attack by Hamas which Tel Aviv says killed around 1,200 people.
At least 23,357 Palestinians have since been killed, mostly women and children, and 59,410 others injured, according to Palestinian health authorities.
About 85% of Gazans have been displaced, while all of the population is food insecure, according to the UN. Hundreds of thousands of people are living without shelter, and less than half of the aid trucks are entering the territory than before the start of the conflict.
“The world now realizes that the Palestinian cause is a just issue and that Israel is committing massacres,” Barghouti said. “The only thing Israel has achieved in Gaza is killing, crimes, and destruction.”
- Gaza’s future
Barghouti termed the Arab reaction to the Israeli onslaught and siege on the Gaza Strip as “weak.”
“Israel maintains control over everything in Gaza and the humanitarian aid entering the enclave falls far short of its actual needs,” he said.
''Since the outbreak of the war, we have urged Arab and Islamic nations to send a humanitarian convoy comprising representatives from the 57 member countries of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation,'' the MP said.
“Would Israel have targeted a 57-track convoy? I don't think so, but unfortunately, nothing has happened,” he lamented.
Barghouti said the Palestinian issue is now at the forefront of international attention.
“There is a change that will have an impact in the next stage on the quest of the Palestinian people to win their freedom.”
Barghouti termed talks about the post-war phase in Gaza as an Israeli attempt to draw attention away from its deadly onslaught on the enclave.
“The issue of who governs Gaza is a Palestinian matter, and does concern the US, Israel, or any other country,” he said.
*Writing By Mohammad Sio