Saudi attempt to 'normalize Israel through TV' slammed

By Nour Abu Aisha

GAZA CITY, Palestine (AA) - Palestinian factions and figures have rejected Saudi T.V. series which promote normalization of ties with Israel.

The television programs, Umm Haroun and Exit 7, which are being broadcast in Ramadan by the Dubai-based Middle East Broadcasting Center (MBC), a Saudi T.V. network, have sparked anger among the citizens.

Hazem Qassem, a spokesman for Hamas, said dramas should be "expressive of the people and their ideas" and not the other way round.

"Some Arab dramas that were produced this year do not respect this matter, and they tend to spread strange ideas that call for coexistence with the occupation, and dare to question the Palestinian cause," he told Anadolu Agency.

Qassem affirmed that "Israel is a threat and will always remain the first enemy of the Arab nation."

Musab Al-Braim, the spokesman for Islamic Jihad movement, also condemned the development, terming it "a historic blow" to all Arabs and Muslims.

"It reflected the mentality that governs the institutions and states behind such productions.., it appears that they have been stripped of all their moral principles," he said.

Salama Marouf, head of the Government Press Office in Gaza, said television was one of the most influential means, and its use in this way demonstrates the desire to change the impressions of Arabs towards the Palestinian cause.

"The call to establish normal relations with the Israeli occupation is a moral and ethical downfall, especially since it came out of the countries and parties that should be primarily among the first advocates of Palestinian rights," he said.

Any Saudi official has yet to comment on these claims.

Unlike Jordan and Egypt, both of which signed peace treaties with Israel (in 1978 and 1994 respectively), other Arab states officially deny having ties with Israel, which is, for decades, illegally occupying Palestinian territories.