JERUSALEM - Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's spokesman has accused the BBC of tricking him into giving an interview for a documentary examining whether Sharon should be tried as a war criminal.
The documentary, to be broadcast on the BBC's domestic Panorama programme today, has sparked outrage in Israel, where officialshave accused the BBC of anti-Semitism and taking an anti-Israeli editorial slant in its reporting.
The programme investigates whether Sharon, a former defence minister, could be tried for the killing of hundreds of Palestinians by Israeli-allied Christian militiamen at the Sabra and Shatila refugee camps during the 1982 invasion of Lebanon.
Sharon's spokesman Raanan Gissin said Panorama had "intentionally" and "maliciously" misled him into giving an interview without telling him that the programme's thrust was whether Sharon was a war criminal.
"I was misled about the purpose of the programme, the content of the programme. I knew it was going to be about Sabra and Shatila, but I did not know about the [war crimes] tribunal."
Gissin declined to comment further on the programme due to what he said was "a legal aspect."
The BBC said Gissin was fully aware when he was interviewed of the issues which would be featured.
Gideon Meir, the Israeli Foreign Ministry's deputy director for communications, has accused the BBC of being anti-Semitic and "not operating according to normal journalist standards."
"There have been network decisions which are, systematically, entirely anti-Israel. Moreover, I tell you that sometimes there is also just a hint of anti-Semitism," Meir said.
He hinted that Israel was considering taking measures against the BBC, but declined to say what those might be.
