Palestinian interim PM urges media to stop incitement.

FranchiseBlade · Nov 30, 2004

This is a great first step. Now if the Irsraeli army and government can put a dent in their propoganda machine, it will be a smalle but significant step to working out some problems.

Media Told to Halt Anti-Israel Incitement

Tue Nov 30, 3:25 PM ET Top Stories - AP

By MOHAMMED DARAGHMEH, Associated Press Writer

JERUSALEM - Interim Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas ordered a halt to anti-Israel incitement in government-controlled media, officials said Tuesday, meeting a key Israeli demand and adding to the new signs of goodwill that have emerged since the death of Yasser Arafat (news - web sites).

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Israel has long complained of incitement in the Palestinian media, citing fiery anti-Israel broadcasts by Muslim preachers and programs praising the killing of Jews. It blamed Arafat, who died Nov. 11, for the objectionable content.

Radwan Abu Ayyash, head of Palestinian radio and television, said he instructed all of his department heads, at the request of Abbas, not to broadcast offensive material.

"Abu Mazen asked us to be sure that the material we broadcast does not contain any material that could be considered incitement," he said, referring to Abbas by his nickname. Officials said the new instructions were given last week.

Israeli officials welcomed the development but said they were waiting to see actual changes in the Palestinian media.

"If we see a reduction in incitement, this will indeed be a positive signal," Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Mark Regev said.

Last week, a top adviser to Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon (news - web sites) signaled peace talks could resume if the Palestinians showed goodwill on the incitement issue. Previously, Sharon demanded a crackdown on militant groups — a much harder step for Abbas — before resuming talks.

A Palestinian broadcasting official said on condition of anonymity that efforts already were under way to revamp programming.

He said officials were reviewing material and planning changes after the 40-day mourning period for Arafat ends. In the meantime, he said, programming was limited to subdued material about Arafat.

The official said talk shows would now be recorded and edited rather than being broadcast live. Mosque preachers whose sermons were broadcast live on Palestinian TV and radio would be informed in advance and asked to avoid incitement.

"We have to record these kinds of shows and to take out the offensive material," the official said, adding that old PLO fight songs praising revolution and sacrifice also would be taken off the air.

The new programming rules are largely symbolic. Most Palestinians do not watch state television, preferring to tune in to livelier content on Arab satellite stations like Al-Jazeera, al-Arabiya or Lebanon's Middle East Broadcasting Corp.

Still, the move was significant for Abbas, who is wary of appearing too close to Israel in the run-up to Palestinian presidential elections. Abbas is widely considered the front-runner in the Jan. 9 vote, but he is nowhere near as popular as Arafat was.

Israel also has signaled it is ready to work with Abbas, who favors negotiations over armed confrontation, but has avoided overt support of him in fear of hurting his election chances.

Sharon has mentioned a number of gestures to Abbas, saying he was ready to meet with the Palestinian leader and coordinate a planned pullout from the Gaza Strip (news - web sites) next year. Sharon refused to negotiate with Arafat.

Sharon's plan has run into danger in recent days due to infighting with partners in his coalition government which lost him a parliamentary majority.

Sharon has approached the opposition Labor Party with a tentative offer to join the shaky coalition in hopes of avoiding early elections and saving the withdrawal plan, Labor officials said Tuesday. Labor strongly backs the pullout.

The contacts were Sharon's latest attempt to extricate himself from a coalition crisis over the 2005 state budget and his Gaza plan. Labor's inclusion in the government would greatly improve Sharon's chances of going ahead with the withdrawal.

Sharon is set to present his budget for the first of three votes in the parliament Wednesday, and it will trigger an immediate political crisis if it does not pass.

The government will collapse if a budget is not approved by March 31.

Labor, meanwhile, is embroiled in its own leadership struggle. Party leader Shimon Peres is eager to enter the government, while his rivals are pushing for early primaries, which would likely prevent the party from joining.
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tm...0041130/ap_on_re_mi_ea/israel_palestinians_17
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Palestinian interim PM urges media to stop incitement.

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