Till now, Hamas’ Al-Aqsa TV was only broadcast in Gaza, but this month, the station’s scope will broaden to wider Arab audiences thanks to distribution agreements with Egyptian and Saudi state-owned satellite companies. In the Opinion Journal, Mark Dubowitz and Jonathan Snow call for a boycott of the station, which follows in the footsteps of Hezbollah’s Al-Manar:
Al Aqsa TV routinely broadcasts Hamas leaders calling for jihad, songs of incitement to murder, and videos of Hamas gunmen. Just like Hamas newspapers, magazines, and websites, Al Aqsa programs typically feature splashy stories glorifying the actions of “martyrs” and assurances that through their sacrifices the “Zionist Entity” will be destroyed.
Children are specifically targeted. Hamas produces radio and television shows and publishes an online magazine geared at preteens. A recent issue of the magazine opens with a cartoon of a smiling child riding a rocket while the previous issue glorified suicide bombers and other “martyrs” in cartoons and poetry.
Hamas websites have been used to raise money for terrorist activities, both explicitly and under the guise of “humanitarian” aid. There have been reports, citing Israeli intelligence, that Hamas field coordinators have used Voice of Al Aqsa radio broadcasts to provide terrorists with exact coordinates and trajectories to fire Qassam rockets at Israeli targets.
Don’t get us started on Al-Aqsa TV newscasts…..
