Back in 2003, the BBC aired a documentary on Israel’s nuclear programme, titled Israel’s Secret Weapon. Israeli leaders hit the roof and banned its officials from appearing on the BBC.

The documentary was spot on. Israel was embarrassed at having its nuclear arsenal exposed when Iraq was being invaded for a non-existent stash of weapons of mass destruction.

I asked a senior BBC official at the time how relations with Israel were panning out. “For a country that wants to influence news coverage, boycotting us is a strange way of doing things,” was the reply, seemingly unruffled by Israeli antics. The BBC did not cave in, and Israel lifted its boycott.

Twenty-five years later, the BBC has lost any semblance of a spine on Israel. Last week, it pulled a documentary titled Gaza: How to Survive a War Zone from its online streaming platform. The corporation said it would carry out a “due diligence” exercise before it could be allowed to air again.