UK
BBC calls terror group founder jailed over two murders a ‘pro-Palestine convict’
Georges Abdallah was convicted of complicity in the assassinations of an Israeli diplomat and an American colonel
July 25, 2025 13:56
Georges Abdallah was convicted of complicity in the assassinations of an Israeli diplomat and an American colonel
July 25, 2025 13:56The BBC has called the founder of a Lebanese terror group a “pro-Palestine convict” ahead of his release after 41 years behind bars due to his involvement in the murders of two diplomats.
Georges Abdallah has been held in a French prison since 1987, when he was convicted of complicity in the assassinations of Lieutenant Colonel Charles Ray, a US military attaché, and Israeli diplomat Yaakov Bar-Simantov – both of whom were killed in Paris five years earlier.
Abdallah was the founder and leader of the Lebanese Armed Revolutionary Factions (LARF), a Marxist, OPFLP splinter group which carried out terrorist attacks in Lebanon and across Europe.
He was arrested in 1984 when he was pulled over in Lyon by French traffic police, several months a cache of weapons associated with the group was found at his Paris home.
He was reportedly due to be exchanged for a French citizen kidnapped in Lebanon until one of the guns found at his address was identified as the one used to the kill the diplomats in retaliation for Israel’s 1982 war with Lebanon and associated American support.
However, in covering his release, the BBC headlined its article “Pro-Palestinian convict freed by France after 41 years”.
In the opening lines of the piece, Abdallah was described as "a 74-year-old Lebanese teacher who became a left-wing symbol for the Palestinian cause".
And, in the next paragraph, his lawyer was quoted describing him as "the man who has spent the longest time in prison for events linked to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict".
Only after that, did the article mention that he was imprisoned due to his involvement in the murder of government officials.
Abdallah has now returned to Lebanon. Upon his return, he said: “Our resistance is rooted in this land and cannot be uprooted. It isn't weak, it is strong and its leaders are its martyrs.
"We must rally around the resistance today more than ever before.”
Asked by the JC whether the article was unduly sympathetic to Abdallah, contained a misleading headline or broke impartiality rules, the BBC declined to comment.
A spokesperson said only: “[We] stand by our journalism.”
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