More than 400 media workers, including 111 BBC journalists, have signed an open letter accusing the broadcaster of acting as "PR for the Israeli government" and called for the removal of board member Sir Robbie Gibb over alleged conflicts of interest, according to various reports.
The open letter, addressed to Director-General Tim Davie and the BBC board, represents a deepening of the crisis engulfing the BBC over its coverage of Israel's atrocities in Gaza.
The letter highlights incidents such as the broadcaster's decision to withdraw from airing a documentary titled 'Gaza: Doctors Under Attack', despite it being approved for broadcast by senior editorial policy figures.
The letter savaged the BBC for its perceived failure to reflect the reality of the situation in Gaza and argued that reporting "falls short" of editorial standards.
"All too often it has felt that the BBC has been performing PR for the Israeli government and military. This should be a cause of great shame and concern for everyone at the BBC," the letter said.
The letter said content creators at the corporation have "experienced censorship in the name of impartiality."
It claimed some insiders had been "accused of having an agenda because they have posted news articles critical of the Israeli government on their social media".
The letter added that Robbie Gibb's position on the BBC board is "untenable" because of his links to the Jewish Chronicle, which the letter said had published "anti-Palestinian and often racist content."
The letter alleged that the BBC board, and therefore Gibb, had input into the decision not to screen Gaza: Doctors Under Attack.
The BBC's position is that the board's Editorial Guidelines and Standards Committee did not have any input into the decision to drop the documentary. The open letter did not provide evidence of Gibb resisting Doctors Under Attack or meddling in any other Gaza output.
A BBC spokesperson said: "Robust discussions amongst our editorial teams about our journalism are an essential part of the editorial process. We have ongoing discussions about coverage and listen to feedback from staff and we think these conversations are best had internally.
"Regarding our coverage of Gaza, the BBC is fully committed to covering the conflict impartially and has produced powerful coverage from the region. Alongside breaking news, ongoing analysis, and investigations, we have produced award-winning documentaries such as Life and Death in Gaza, and Gaza 101.'
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