Israel’s Shabak, in cooperation with the IDF and police, this week shut down the popular anti-Israeli Arab channel Falastin al-Yum (Palestine Today), operated by the Islamic Jihad. The channel broadcasts on TV, the Internet, and social networks.
According to information gathered by security forces, the Islamic Jihad used the channel as a central means to incite the Arab population in Judea and Samaria, calling on them to carry out terror attacks against Israel and its citizens. The incitement message was delivered on TV and online.
Farouk Omar Kassam Eliat, 34, the channel’s director, a resident of Birzeit, north of Ramallah, was arrested. Eliat Is a member of the Islamic Jihad and spent time in prison in the past for his activity in the organization.
Based on his authority under the Defense Regulations (Emergency) 1945, the Commander of the IDF Central Command, Gen. Roni Numa, declared the channel an illegal association.
Closing down inciting Arab media and demolishing Arab terrorists’ homes are two of the means being used by Israel to deter terrorism.
Of course, despite the closing down of the TV channel, fans of Falastin al-Yum could still receive their favorite source of incitement via the channel’s lavish website and on Facebook, including up-to-the-minute video reports. Still, it must be comforting to know that the terrorists who will attack Jewish victims from this day on were not influenced by television, only by the Internet and Facebook.