PALESTINE / Eutelsat pulls the plug on Hamas’ channel

According to Reuters, on March 12th the European company Eutelsat stopped transmitting the Palestinian channel Al Aqsa TV, after a telephone conversation the previous day between the French President, François Hollande and the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu .

The channel was nevertheless back on air shortly afterwards on other networks, including the Egyptian Nilesat.

Founded in 2006 by Hamas, Al Aqsa TV is accused by the Israeli government of “inciting hatred against Israelis and Jews.”

On the night of March 10^th to 11^th, the Israeli army raided the Ramallah headquarters of the channel Falastin Al Youm (Palestine Today), the media satellite of the terrorist group Islamic Jihad. The army arrested staff there and seized equipment before closing the premises. Falastin Al Youm, however, continues broadcasting its programmes from Beirut.

The army also targeted the headquarters of the production company Trans Media, also located in Ramallah and seized equipment, as reported by AFP journalists.

Sources: Advanced Television, Reuters, i24 News, Al Huffington Post