"The occupied city of Beersheba": The head of the new department at the BBC sparked a storm

The Telegraph revealed that Maissalon Nasser, the new head of the Arabic news department at the BBC, previously described Beersheba as "occupied" and referred to Israelis injured by rocket fire as "settlers." The revelations raise questions about the objectivity of the network's Arabic service.

Maissalon Nasser, the new head of the Arabic news department at the BBC, previously described the city of Beersheba as "occupied" and referred to Israeli civilians injured by rocket fire as "settlers," according to a report by The Telegraph. Nasser, who assumed her position last month, made these statements in a series of social media posts during her tenure at France 24. The report notes that the revelations raise renewed questions about the objectivity of the BBC's Arabic service, which has previously faced criticism for anti-Israel bias. During Operation Pillar of Defense in November 2012, Nasser referred to Beersheba as "the occupied city of Beersheba," and the following day wrote that Israel reported the fall of 100 rockets and the injury of 28 "settlers." In another instance, she described rocket fire from Lebanon as directed at "Israeli settlements," and reported that a rocket landed in Metula, which she defined as being "within the occupied territories."