Al-Aqsa TV
| AL-AQSA TV | |
|---|---|
| Launched | 9 January 2006 |
| Network | al-Aqsa Media Network |
| Owned by | Hamas |
| Slogan | "Your eye at the home" in Arabic "aenik a`ala el-watan" |
| Country | Palestine |
| Language | Arabic |
| Broadcast area | Middle East, Webcast |
| Headquarters | Gaza |
| Website |
aqsatv |
| Streaming media | |
| aqsatv | Live Streaming (24/7) |
Al-Aqsa TV (Arabic: قناة الأقصى) is the official Hamas-run television channel. Its programming includes news and propaganda promoting Hamas, children's shows (such as Tomorrow's Pioneers), and religiously inspired entertainment. It is currently directed by Palestinian Legislative Council member Fathi Hamad.
The station began broadcasting in the Gaza Strip on January 9, 2006 after Hamas won a sweeping victory in Palestinian parliamentary elections. On January 22, 2006, the Palestinian public prosecutor Ahmed Maghni decided to close down a television station because it did not have the necessary broadcast license, but the decision was never enforced.
On December 29, 2008, during the Gaza War, Israeli aircraft repeatedly bombed the al-Aqsa television station headquarters in Gaza City. The building was completely destroyed, but the station continued to broadcast from a mobile TV unit
On July 29, 2014, during the 2014 Israel-Gaza conflict, an Israeli air strike hit a media building housing al-Aqsa TV and al-Aqsa Radio channel in the centre of Gaza City early on in the morning. The television station continued to broadcast, but the radio station went silent. The radio station has since come back on the air.
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. 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." According to the American Jewish organisation, the Anti-Defamation League, Al-Aqsa TV promotes terrorist activity and incites hatred of Jews and Israelis and much of its programming glorifying violence is geared towards children.
In regards to Al-Aqsa's television programme Tomorrow's Pioneers, following complaints by Israeli watchdog groups that triggered international scrutiny, Palestinian Information Minister Mustafa Barghouti said he had asked Al-Aqsa TV to stop the broadcasts so the content could be reviewed. Despite Barghouti's call, Tomorrow's Pioneers went on the air as usual. In later episodes the co-host, a Mickey Mouse-like character named Farfour was killed by an Israeli interrogator, and was replaced by a bee named Naoul, who also died and was replaced by a rabbit character named Assoud. Assoud, in turn, was martyred and replaced by Nassur the bear.
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