Al-Aqsa TV ( ar, قناة الأقصى) is a

television Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertisin ...

channel run by

Hamas Hamas (, ; , ; an acronym of , "Islamic Resistance Movement") is a Palestinian Sunni-Islamic fundamentalist, militant, and nationalist organization. It has a social service wing, Dawah, and a military wing, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam ...

, which is based in the

Gaza Strip The Gaza Strip (;The New Oxford Dictionary of English (1998) – p.761 "Gaza Strip /'gɑːzə/ a strip of territory under the control of the Palestinian National Authority and Hamas, on the SE Mediterranean coast including the town of Gaza.. ...

. Its programs include news and propaganda promoting Hamas, children's shows (such as ''

Tomorrow's Pioneers ''Tomorrow's Pioneers'' ( ar, رواد الغد ''Ruwād al-Ghad''), also known as ''The Pioneers of Tomorrow'', is a Palestinian children's television show. The series was broadcast by the Hamas-affiliated television station Al-Aqsa TV from Ap ...

'', that promotes violence and

antisemitism Antisemitism (also spelled anti-semitism or anti-Semitism) is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who holds such positions is called an antisemite. Antisemitism is considered to be a form of racism. Antis ...

), and religiously inspired entertainment. It is currently directed by

Fathi Hamad Fathi Ahmad Hamad ( ar, فتحي أحمد حماد, also spelled Fathi Hammad; born 3 January 1961, Beit Lahia, northern Gaza) is a political leader of Hamas, a member of the Palestinian Legislative Council. In April 2009, he was appointed Inter ...

, who is a member of the Palestinian Legislative Council and

Interior Minister of the Gaza Strip The Interior Minister in the Gaza Strip is an office created in June 2007, following the Hamas takeover of the Gaza Strip, that left the Palestinian Authority (PA) in control only of the West Bank and Hamas in control of the Gaza Strip. The offic ...

. The channel is named after the

Al-Aqsa Mosque Al-Aqsa Mosque (, ), also known as Jami' Al-Aqsa () or as the Qibli Mosque ( ar, المصلى القبلي, translit=al-Muṣallā al-Qiblī, label=none), and also is a congregational mosque located in the Old City of Jerusalem. It is situate ...

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

History

The station began broadcasting in the

on 9 January 2006, after Hamas won a decisive victory in the 2006 Palestinian legislative election. 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.Hamas TV station shut down
, news24.com, January 22, 2006 On 29 December 2008, during the Gaza War, Israeli aircraft repeatedly bombed the television station headquarters in Gaza City. The building was completely destroyed, but the station continued to broadcast from a mobile TV unit. On 29 July 2014, during the

2014 Israel-Gaza conflict The 2014 Gaza War, also known as Operation Protective Edge ( he, מִבְצָע צוּק אֵיתָן, translit=Miv'tza Tzuk Eitan, ), was a military operation launched by Israel on 8 July 2014 in the Gaza Strip, a Palestinian territory that ...

, 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. The radio station has since come back on the air. 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. In 2019 after the

Shin Bet The Israel Security Agency (ISA; he, שֵׁירוּת הַבִּיטָּחוֹן הַכְּלָלִי; ''Sherut ha-Bitaẖon haKlali''; "the General Security Service"; ar, جهاز الأمن العام), better known by the acronym Shabak ( he, ...

assessed that al-Aqsa TV used coded messages to recruit operatives to Hamas; and the Israeli

Ministry of Defense {{unsourced, date=February 2021 A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is an often-used name for the part of a government responsible for matters of defence, found in state ...

has designated al-Aqsa TV a terrorist organization.

Criticism

In May 2013, al-Aqsa TV became the focus of media scrutiny after a decision by the

Newseum The Newseum was an American museum dedicated to news and journalism that promoted free expression and the First Amendment to the United States Constitution, while tracing the evolution of communication. The purpose of the museum, funded by the ...

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 A Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT) is a person or entity that has been designated as such by the United States Department of State or the US Department of the Treasury. An SDGT designation is made under authority of US Executive Order ...

," 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 program ''

'',Al Aqsa TV defies Hamas government
,

Reuters Reuters ( ) is a news agency owned by Thomson Reuters Corporation. It employs around 2,500 journalists and 600 photojournalists in about 200 locations worldwide. Reuters is one of the largest news agencies in the world. The agency was esta ...

, May 13, 2007. following complaints by Israeli watchdog groups that triggered international scrutiny, Palestinian Information Minister

Mustafa Barghouti Mustafa Barghouti ( ar, مصطفى البرغوثي; born 1 January 1954) is a Palestinian physician, activist, and politician who serves as General Secretary of the Palestinian National Initiative (PNI), also known as al Mubadara. He has been ...

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. 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. In May 2008, Bassem Naeem, the

minister of health A health minister is the member of a country's government typically responsible for protecting and promoting public health and providing welfare and other social security services. Some governments have separate ministers for mental health. Coun ...

in the

Hamas government in Gaza The governance of the Gaza Strip since the Hamas takeover of the Gaza Strip in June 2007 has been carried out by Hamas, which is often referred to as the Hamas government in Gaza. The Hamas administration was led by Ismail Haniyeh from 2007 to ...

, responded to allegations of

in Al-Aqsa TV programmes. In his letter to ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'', Naeem 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. In response, ''The Guardian'' columnist

Alan Johnson Alan Arthur Johnson (born 17 May 1950) is a British politician who served as Secretary of State for Education and Skills from 2006 to 2007, Secretary of State for Health from 2007 to 2009, Home Secretary from 2009 to 2010, and Shadow Chanc ...

wrote that Al-Aqsa TV cannot be a media institution independent of Hamas, because it is headed by

, chairman of a Hamas-run company that also produces the Hamas radio station and its bi-weekly newspaper, and because, since 2007, Hamas had blocked

Palestinian National Authority The Palestinian National Authority (PA or PNA; ar, السلطة الوطنية الفلسطينية '), commonly known as the Palestinian Authority and officially the State of Palestine,

broadcasts into Gaza, which indicated that there is no independent media in Gaza. 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”.

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Al-Aqsa Tv Hamas Mass media in the State of Palestine Television stations in the State of Palestine Arab mass media Arabic-language television stations Television channels and stations established in 2006 Mass media in Gaza City Television in the State of Palestine Attacks on mass media offices Temple Mount Television networks in Palestine

History

Criticism

See also

References

External links