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Al-Aqsa TV

Al-Aqsa TV (Arabic: قناة الأقصى) is a television channel run by Hamas,[1] which is based in the Gaza Strip. Its programs include news and propaganda promoting Hamas,[2] children's shows, and religiously inspired entertainment.[3] It is currently directed by Fathi Hamad, who is a member of the Palestinian Legislative Council[4] and Interior Minister of the Gaza Strip. The channel is named after Al-Aqsa in Jerusalem.

History

The station began broadcasting in the Gaza Strip on 9 January 2006,[5][6] after Hamas won a decisive victory in the 2006 Palestinian legislative election.[3] On 22 January 2006, the Palestinian public prosecutor Ahmed Maghni moved to close down the al-Aqsa television station because it did not have the necessary broadcast license, but the decision was never enforced.[5]

On 29 December 2008, during the Gaza War, Israeli aircraft repeatedly bombed the television station headquarters in Gaza City. The building was completely destroyed,[7] but the station continued to broadcast from a mobile TV unit.[citation needed]

On 29 July 2014, during the 2014 Gaza War, an Israeli air strike hit a media building housing al-Aqsa TV and Al-Aqsa Radio in the centre of Gaza City early in the morning. The television station continued to broadcast, but the radio station went silent,[8] though it later returned to the air.[9]

In September 2016, the U.S. Department of State named Hamad a Specially Designated Terrorist in his role as the director of Al-Aqsa TV, which the U.S. said aired "programs designed to recruit children to become Hamas armed fighters and suicide bombers."[10]

On 12 November 2018, Israel bombed the station building after launching at least five non-exploding missiles nearby as warnings to evacuate followed a surge in cross-border fighting.[11]In 2019 after the Shin Bet assessed that al-Aqsa TV used coded messages to recruit operatives to Hamas;[12] and the Israeli Ministry of Defense has designated al-Aqsa TV a terrorist organization.[13]

Criticism

In May 2013, al-Aqsa TV became the focus of media scrutiny after a decision by the Newseum to honor two al-Aqsa TV members as part of its ongoing memorial to journalists who lost their lives in the line of duty in 2012.[14] The U.S. government classifies al-Aqsa TV as being controlled by Hamas, a "Specially Designated Global Terrorist," and states that it "will not distinguish between a business financed and controlled by a terrorist group, such as Al-Aqsa Television, and the terrorist group itself."[15] According to the American Jewish and zionist organisation, the Anti-Defamation League, Al-Aqsa TV promotes terrorist activity and incites hatred of Jews and Israelis[6] and much of its programming glorifying violence is geared towards children.[6]

Tomorrow's Pioneers, a children's television show produced by the network, received criticism due to its promotion of antisemitic and violent themes.[16] Following complaints by Israeli watchdog groups that triggered international scrutiny, Palestinian Information Minister Mustafa Barghouti said he had asked Al-Aqsa TV to stop broadcasts so the content could be reviewed. Despite Barghouti's call, Tomorrow's Pioneers went on air as usual.[17]

In May 2008, Basem Naim, the minister of health in the Hamas government in Gaza, responded to allegations of antisemitism in Al-Aqsa TV programmes.[18] In his letter to The Guardian, Naim stated that the Al-Aqsa Channel is an independent media institution that often does not express the views of the Hamas government or the Hamas movement.[18] In response, The Guardian columnist Alan Johnson wrote that Al-Aqsa TV cannot be a media institution independent of Hamas,[19] because it is headed by Fathi Hamad, chairman of a Hamas-run company that also produces the Hamas radio station and its bi-weekly newspaper,[19] and because, since 2007, Hamas had blocked Palestinian National Authority broadcasts into Gaza, which indicated that there is no independent media in Gaza.[19]

About reporting, Ibrahim Daher, a director at Al-Aqsa media operation, said they may not broadcast certain news. He said “If there was bad news during the war, or something went wrong, we just kept silent about it” and “now we mostly keep silent about the blockade, and that Hamas wasn't able to lift it during the war”.[20]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Hamas leader killed in air strike". BBC. 2009-01-01. Archived from the original on 2009-01-04.
  2. ^ "Subtle voices of dissent surface in ...." Archived 2014-08-16 at the Wayback Machine Ynetnews. 15 August 2014. 15 August 2014
  3. ^ a b "Hamas Launches Television Network". NPR. Archived from the original on 2006-04-27. Retrieved 2006-02-03.
  4. ^ Butcher, Tim (2007-05-11). "Anti-Israel 'Mickey Mouse' row escalates". London: The Telegraph. Archived from the original on 2013-05-05. Retrieved 2007-05-11.
  5. ^ a b Hamas TV station shut down Archived 2007-10-09 at the Wayback Machine, news24.com, January 22, 2006
  6. ^ a b c "Terrorism: Al Aqsa TV". Anti-Defamation League. 13 May 2013. Archived from the original on 12 January 2017. Retrieved 11 January 2017.
  7. ^ "Hundreds dead, injured in Gaza as Israeli airstrikes continue". CNN. 2008-12-28. Archived from the original on 30 December 2008. Retrieved 2008-12-28.
  8. ^ "Israel-Gaza conflict: massive explosions as air strikes hit Hamas media building". Archived from the original on 2014-07-29. Retrieved 2014-07-29.
  9. ^ "Twitter account for AqsaTVChannel". Archived from the original on 2014-08-19. Retrieved 2014-07-29.
  10. ^ Balousha, Hazem (2016-09-18). "Palestinian leader says he is proud to be branded a 'global terrorist' by U.S." Archived from the original on 2020-12-07. Retrieved 5 December 2023.
  11. ^ "Israel bombs Hamas TV station in Gaza after warning calls, shots". Reuters. Retrieved 2024-03-07.
  12. ^ Hacohen, Hagai (February 13, 2019). "Hamas Attempts to Recruit West Bank, Jerusalem Residents - Via Satellite". The Jerusalem Post. Retrieved March 7, 2019.
  13. ^ Rubenstein, Sara (March 6, 2019). "Netanyahu Declares Hamas's al-Aqsa TV a Terrorist Organization". The Jerusalem Post. Retrieved March 7, 2019.
  14. ^ "Spotlight On Al Aqsa Television". Anti-Defemation League. Archived from the original on 16 August 2013. Retrieved 13 May 2013.
  15. ^ "Treasury Designates Gaza-Based Business, Television Station for Hamas Ties". www.treasury.gov. Archived from the original on 2014-10-06.
  16. ^ Küntzel, Matthias (16 May 2008). "'Wipe Out the Jews' : Anti-Semitic Hate Speech in the Name of Islam". Der Spiegel. Retrieved 30 March 2024.
  17. ^ Al Aqsa TV defies Hamas government Archived 2008-12-07 at the Wayback Machine, Reuters, May 13, 2007.
  18. ^ a b Naeem, Bassem (2008-05-15). "Hamas condemns the Holocaust". The Guardian. London. Archived from the original on 2016-12-01.
  19. ^ a b c Johnson, Alan (2008-05-15). "Hamas and antisemitism". The Guardian. London. Archived from the original on 2017-01-19.
  20. ^ McCoy, Terrence (29 September 2014). "Hamas radio station in Gaza reports on the sunny side of Islamist movement's rule". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on 24 February 2015. Retrieved 14 January 2015.

External links