A journalist who called for Jews to be ‘burned as Hitler did’ on social media has been used by the BBC again as an expert commentator on the Gaza conflict. 

Samer Elzaenen, 33, who has regularly featured on the broadcaster’s Arabic channel, was quoted accusing Israel of using starvation as a weapon against Palestinians.

According to The Telegraph, the BBC has admitted that Mr Elzaenen should not have featured in the story.  

It comes following reports in April that Mr Elzaenen had condemned Jews and even called for them to be killed in posts on social media. 

Mr Elzaenen, who is not a BBC journalist, wrote in a Facebook post in July 2022: ‘When things go awry for us, shoot the Jews, it fixes everything.’

Meanwhile on the same social media platform in 2011, he seemingly called for a repeat of the Holocaust. 

Mr Elzaenen said: ‘My message to the Zionist Jews: We are going to take our land back, we love death for Allah’s sake the same way you love life. 

‘We shall burn you as Hitler did, but this time we won’t have a single one of you left.’

Samer Elzaenen, 33, (pictured) who has regularly featured on the broadcaster’s Arabic channel, accused Israel of using starvation as a weapon against Palestinians

Palestinians inspect the site of an Israeli air strike from earlier today that destroyed a residential building in Gaza City

At the time, the BBC said they were ‘not aware’ of Mr Elzaenen’s social media posts, adding that there is ‘no place for anti-Semitism on our services’. 

However, it has now emerged that the broadcaster used Mr Elzaenen again, despite the initial concerns about his comments on Jews being raised. 

According to The Telegraph’s report, he was cited as a witness by BBC Arabic journalist Suzanna Goussous to describe the hunger in Gaza. 

Mr Elzaenen’s quotes were used under the headline ‘Starvation as a “weapon of war”: What does it mean and when was it used in history?’

In Ms Goussous’s report, she wrote: ‘Journalist Samer Elzaenen tells me from Khan Yunis: “The situation is unbearable; the scenes of stampedes are harsher than the scenes of bombing. 

‘Women, children and the elderly risk their lives in a daily struggle for survival.

‘Every time aid trucks enter, dozens of martyrs and injured are recorded, especially in the areas designated as distribution centres”.’

The BBC used Mr Elzaenen again despite concerns being raised about his comments on social media about Jews. Pictured: The broadcaster’s headquarters in London 

In his posts on social media, Mr Elzaenen has seemingly backed more than 30 separate attacks against Jewish civilians in Israel. 

Meanwhile, in reference to an attack in February 2023 in which a terrorist killed two children at a bus stop in Jerusalem, he said the victims would soon ‘go to hell’.

When asked by The Telegraph about his attitudes towards Jews, Mr Elzaenen said the posts were ‘quotations’ rather than ‘personal statements’. 

He added that he had since removed the posts and that they ‘do not reflect or represent my professional journalism’. 

A BBC spokesman said: ‘There is no place for anti-Semitism on our services. 

‘We strongly condemn the hateful views expressed by this individual in 2011.

‘Although he is not a BBC journalist, and quoting him does not mean we endorse his views, we should not have used him in this way.’