Reversing an earlier decision, in defiance of Fatah.
“Hamas TV refuses to axe contested kids cartoon,” from Middle East Times, with thanks to MM:
RAMALLAH, West Bank — A Hamas-run television channel has defied a Palestinian government request to axe a controversial children’s cartoon in which a Mickey Mouse look-alike urges resistance against Israel.
A senior official working for Al Aqsa (Jerusalem) television in the Gaza Strip said that the program – “Tomorrow’s Pioneers” – would air as normal this Friday in defiance of information minister Mustafa Barghouti.
“The program will continue and it will be broadcast tomorrow at 4.00 pm [1300 GMT]. Mustafa Barghouti misunderstood the issue,” said the official on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to the press.
Earlier, the information ministry in the West Bank city of Ramallah said: “A politically-oriented children’s television program was withdrawn by the Al Aqsa TV station today following a request by the ministry of information.”
Barghouti said that the program adopted a “mistaken approach” to the Palestinian struggle against Israeli occupation and that it was wrong to use children’s programs to convey political messages.
In the program, the Mickey Mouse look-alike named Farfur and a little girl urge resistance against Israel and the United States – along with stressing the importance of daily prayers and drinking milk.