Israeli Troops Raid Palestinian Television Stations

On Wednesday, Israeli soldiers raided two Palestinian news stations in the occupied West Bank seizing transmitters the military said were “interfering with air traffic communications.” Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad visited Watan TV, one of the raided TV stations, called the Israeli offensive “oppressive and monstrous” and “violated all international laws.” Spokesman for the Palestinian Authority Ghassan Khatib stated that the Palestinian communications ministry determined that they had complied with all legal requirements.

Israeli authorities stated that they had asked both Watan TV and Alquds educational television to “stop using frequencies” that interfered with Israeli wireless communications and air traffic control streams. “They seized computers, broadcast equipment and administrative files,” said Ahmed Milhem, an employee of Watan TV, “the station is now off the air.” When asked why documents and hard rives were confiscated from Watan TV, a spokesman for the Israeli Military responded that “one the soldiers entered the premises, they noticed suspicious documents and extended what they took with them.