A pro-Israel media monitor has criticised the BBC World Service for asking a veteran of the 1976 Entebbe raid whether he had felt “reservations” about violating Ugandan sovereignty.

 The Outlook episode, broadcast on June 2, featured an interview by Emily Webb with Rami Sherman who participated in the long-distance operation to liberate 106 mainly Israeli hostages from Uganda.

The hostages had been taken after the hijack of an Air France plane by members of the terrorist group Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), which had flown the airliner to Uganda, where they were welcomed by President Idi Amin.

The Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting and Analysis (Camera UK), which describes itself as a “pro-Israel media monitoring organisation”, highlighted oversights and mischaracterisations in the World Service episode.

Camera UK criticised Ms Webb’s question as to whether Mr Sherman had felt “reservations about the operations”. She asked qualified the question by adding, “knowing that you’d be violating Uganda’s territory by taking part in it, by going into the country without permission.”

Mr Sherman replied “not really”, adding: “We have to do it for a good reason, of saving lives. If the government sent us to Entebbe, we will be on the front.”   

Camera UK also criticised the Outlook broadcast, entitled ‘My part in a historic hostage rescue’, for characterising the raid as “controversial”.

Ms Webb had closed the segment saying: “The raid had been controversial and questions were asked in the UN about Israel’s response.”

Libya, Tanzania and Benin sponsored a United Nations Security Council resolution after the raid that condemned Israel’s violation of Uganda’s sovereignty, but ultimately withdrew it lacking the required support.

Camera also noted that Outlook failed to characterise the hijacking of the passenger planes as “controversial” and used the term “hijackers” rather than “terrorists” for the PLFP.

The BBC declined to comment on the allegatons made by Camera.