Jul 14 2015
Why is Israel trying to shut down this Palestinian TV station?
By Daoud Kuttab
When writer-lawyer Sabri Jiryis wrote in 1968 his research about the 165,000 non-Jews that remained in their country when Israel was created in 1948, he called his book “The Arabs in Israel.â€
When the Palestinian Broadcasting Corp. (PBC) decided to dedicate one of its many satellite stations to Israel’s Arab population, it called the new station F48, angering the right-wing Israeli government. The Falastin 48 station was begun during a June 17news conference on the eve of Ramadan in Nazareth and in the presence of Ramallah-based Palestinian government Communications Minister Riad al-Hassan. Israeli media reported June 18 that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered the station to be shut down, although nothing specifically was done to close it.
For years, Palestine TV has dedicated some programming to its Palestinian brethren in Israel, and it was well-received. So the station decided to dedicate one of its many channels to them. The main F48 satellite is based in Cairo, with studios in Ramallah and Nazareth contributing to it. So no licensing is needed from Israel.
On July 9, Israeli Communications Minister Gilad Erdan issued an order announcing that the new station is illegal and not allowed to operate in Israel. While the station targets Palestinian citizens of Israel, its ownership and financial support lie outside of Ramallah. Continue Reading »