Israeli police raid PA TV studios over incitement exposed by PMW

Israeli police raided the Jerusalem studios of the Palestinian Authority (PA) TV on Friday, briefly detaining three staff for questioning over incitement to violence according to a police spokesperson.

"Police carried out searches at the headquarters of the television channel, as part of an investigation into the content of its programs," spokesperson Luba Samri told AFP.

"Three employees were arrested, questioned and released," Samri added, saying "no programs were interrupted and the investigation is ongoing."

Police reportedly investigated the TV station over suspicion that it was broadcasting "incitements to violence."

The Arab news agency Wafa claimed that the "Good Morning Jerusalem" program was targeted in the police investigation, as the show's producer Nadar Bibars, in addition to a cameraman and the guest Ala'a Al-Hadad, a member of the Prisoners' Council in Jerusalem which works on behalf of the jailed terrorists.

According to the Arab news source, the show was interrupted and taken off air.

It added a statement from the PA broadcasting authority in Ramallah, claiming "we have the right to broadcast from Jerusalem according to the Oslo Accords."

Palestinian Authority (PA) obligations to the 1993 Oslo Accords were cast aside on Monday as a unity government with Hamas was formed. The latest police crackdown may be part of the Israeli response to the move.

"Good Morning Jerusalem" was caught last January hosting a guest, President of the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics Ola Awad, who insinuated "there is an Israeli policy" to get local Arabs addicted to drugs. Awad said "this policy is clear Judaization of Jerusalemites in a direct manner." The statements were revealed by Palestine Media Watch (PMW).

PMW also exposed another broadcast by the show last October that featured three young Arab rappers. One of the youths rapped "I will die a martyr and the whole world will escort me (to my wedding to the virgins in heaven)...the most beautiful death is as a sacrifice."

In a separate move, IDF soldiers raided the office of a Hamas-affiliated newspaper in Ramallah last Thursday, ordering it to stop printing publications for the terrorist organization.