This research studies private television in Palestine, focusing on the circumstances under which private television industry was established, the nature of the stations, the regulatory system, its relation with the Palestinian National Authority, the role of private television in forming the national and cultural identities for the Palestinians and the problems these stations are facing. In my discussion, I try to draw theoretical accounts of alternative media and media regulations in addition to media and the national and cultural identities. Finally, I conclude my study with a personal evaluation and recommendations.

 Acknowledgments

This study would have not seen light without the support and help of several people. My wife Benaz and daughter Tamar who helped to create an atmosphere that allowed me to finish my studies. Thanks also must go to different people; Mr. Bill Osgereby, my personal tutor at Leicester University in the UK who was supportive of the topic and helped me throughout the entire work, Alison Whitehead and Zahira Ahmad course secretaries at the University for their endless help.

Thanks also go to all interviewees and staff at the different private television stations in Palestine who devoted their time to help me. Special thanks to Mr. Hani Al-Masri, the Director General of the Publications Department at the Palestinian Ministry of Information and Mr. Daoud Kuttab, Director of the Institute of Modern Media at Al-Quds University, both for their continuous support and help.

Introduction

Chapter 1

Background to Development of Television in Palestine

Chapter 2

Reality of Private Television in Palestine

2:1 Structures of Private Television Stations

2:2 Legal and Regularity Framework of Private Television Stations

3:3 The Palestinian National Authority and Private Television Stations

Chapter 3

Private Television and the Palestinian National and Cultural Identities

Chapter 4

Private Television: Professional Practice

Conclusion

Information Update

References

Palestinians have for a long time been the subject of news having little to say in how their image is shaped by the western media. During the first Palestinian uprising Intifada (1987 – 1993) and after the peace process, Palestinians have had the opportunity to begin influencing how the world views them (Institute of Modern Media, 1997).

Throughout the long years of occupation, Palestinians have had few sources of information, especially in the field of television. Few television channels were broadcasting to the Palestinian Occupied Territories. “Palestinians mainly watched Jordanian or Israeli TV, but homes in Northern Palestine could also receive Syrian and Lebanese TV, while those in the South received TV broadcast from Egypt” (Kuttab, 1993).

The signing of the Oslo Agreement between the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and the Government of Israel in 1993, gave a great opportunity for Palestinian electronic media, especially when the Voice of Palestine and Palestine TV were established under the name of the Palestinian Broadcasting Corporation (PBC). The PBC was the first Palestinian broadcasting since 1967 inside Palestine.

The need for an alternative to PBC, and to non-Palestinian television stations, brought the idea of the establishment of private local television stations in Palestine. The Palestinian Ministry of Information did not object to the idea and therefore has put some regulations in order to organize the work of private television. As a result there are 31 private television stations now in Palestine. These stations are located in the six main cities of the West Bank. Only one TV Company in Gaza has recently obtained a license for a television station, but still not broadcasting for technical reasons.

Theoretically, and in regards to alternative media, I will try to link between the case of private television in Palestinian and the theoretical aspects of alternative media.

In my research I study the phenomena of private television in Palestine and take a thorough look at how they function, how they are being regulated and whether private television in Palestine helps to shape the cultural and national political identity of its audiences. This discussion will be theoretically supported.

In the first chapter, I give a general background on the development of television in Palestine, looking at the roots of television, and the absence of Palestinian broadcasting during the years of occupation until the signing of the Declaration of Principles (DOP) in Washington in 1993.

In the second chapter I focus on the development of private television in Palestine, its structures, legal and regularity framework. Also I discuss the relationship between private television stations and the Palestinian National Authority (PNA). Assisted by theories on media regulation, I try to explain the importance of television regulation in the Palestinian case.

Chapter 3 is focused on the role of private television stations in forming the Palestinian national and cultural identities, supported by theories related to media and the national and cultural identity. In chapter 4, I focus on the actual professional practice of private television stations. And the conclusion contains my personal view and possible recommendations.

This research was completed in March 2001 and since it is the first study of its kind, I was, and throughout the entire work, depending on different sources of information. The different newspaper clips and articles helped me get an idea of what is being said about private television in Palestine specially since September 29, 2000 when the second Palestinian uprising (al-Aqsa Intifada) erupted. A great assistance were the relevant theories related to the subjects of alternative media, cultural and national identities, media regulations and others.

A great deal of this work was actually dependent on oral history taken from people who are well informed about the nature of private television in Palestine, and with others who are involved in working at and/or owning private television stations. One-on-one Interview is an effective approach of media research. It provides “detailed and accurate responses on sensitive issues” (Wimmer and Dominick, 1997). It is also personal and allows human interaction. Interview as an approach of media research has its disadvantages. It is done with a nonrandom sample, answers may vary from one person to another, it may be subjected to the interviewer’s/interviewee’s bias and may present problems in data analysis (Wimmer and Dominick, 1997). In this study, interview was of a great help as a method of research, especially for the personal communication, and the ability to meet people who are practically involved. In addition, it helped me find information that was unavailable. May be one disadvantage of interview in my case was the continuous rescheduling of interviews due to other activities the interviewee or myself had to do. Interviews were interrupted by others who had to come into the rooms, especially because the interviewees are top people at their institutions.

Background readings and literature were very helpful; especially those related to the political, social and economical factors that helped establish television in Palestine. Description of the wide range background readings appears in the ‘references’ section at the end of this dissertation.

One other approach I used is a simple questionnaire, to give me an overview of what is in common between private televisions stations in Palestine and in what ways they differ. The purpose of using a questionnaire was to get descriptive information (Wimmer and Dominick, 1997). The advantages behind using this method of media research was because it described the realities at these stations in brief information, which helped me judge the professional level of the stations. Analysis of the questionnaire is widely being used in Chapter 2. Another advantage is the low cost of using a questionnaire specially because I could not visit some stations, but used the fax and e-mail to communicate. Despite all these advantages, I found it difficult to get accurate information, especially with issues related to employment and income. Another disadvantage was that some stations did not cooperate with me at all.

The other method I used is observation. Watching some of the programs shown by private television in my district and comparing it to what the governmental television shows gave me an opportunity to look at similarities and differences. I also visited a number of stations in the district where I live and in other districts, in addition to attending some meetings between stations and the Palestinian Ministry of Information. My observation was for a long period, since I am always interested in what these stations show, but for academic considerations, my focused observation was for a period of three months beginning of October 2000 until the end of December 2000. This period has witnessed an active role for television in Palestine specially in covering the Palestinian – Israeli conflict. Some people see this role as very constructive, but others looked at it in a different view. The advantage of using this method is that some of the problems of private televisions in Palestine cannot be identified using any other method (Wimmer and Dominick, 1997). Especially those issues related to the ethics of journalism, violent bloody scenes and the objective, balanced and accurate coverage of events. Disadvantages of this approach were in being limited to watch three television stations in my district and not being able to watch other stations for technical reasons related to picking up transmission of other stations. Observation in a situation of war is hard to judge objectivity and balance especially when dealing with the killing of ones own people. The last disadvantage was that I had to spend hours watching bloody scenes, dead bodies and low quality material.

Overall, despite the strengths and weaknesses of the approaches I used, this study has helped me realize how important is the documentation of this Palestinian experience. I hope that my study will be useful for others who are interested in this topic.

Palestinians in the Occupied Territories were able to establish their own television only after the signing of the Declaration of Principles (DOP) in Washington on September 13^th, 1993 by Yasser Arafat, Chairman of the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) and the Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin. According to the DOP, Israeli Occupation troops were redeployed from the Palestinian cities, and the newly developed Palestinian National Authority (PNA) took control of the major cities in the West Bank and Gaza.

Over almost three decades, the Israeli Occupation controlled all aspects of Palestinian life, including the media. The Palestinian media during Israeli Occupation was restricted. No television or radio stations were allowed to function, and no licenses were granted. “Only three Palestinian newspapers published in East Jerusalem were circulated in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip” (UNICEF, 1999). These newspapers were censored by the Israeli military censors. Palestinians in the Occupied Territories (O.T.) at that time had no chance to establish their own television for political reasons and restrictions imposed by Occupation authorities. Instead they were introduced to the Arabic service provided by Israeli TV and to government owned television stations in neighboring Arab counties. “Palestinians mainly watched Jordanian or Israeli TV, but homes in Northern Palestine [could] also receive Syrian and Lebanese TV, while those in the South received TV broadcast from Egypt” (Kuttab, 1993).

Grassroots for television production, according Daoud Kuttab in Channels of Resistance 1993, began during the first Palestinian Uprising Intifada 1987-1993. At that time, the Palestinian Occupied Territories were flooded with foreign journalists, producers and camera crews. Due to the difficult political situation, the Israeli measures restricting the movement of foreign media representatives and for safety purposes especially when the Israeli undercover intelligence started using press decoys, the foreign media began to insist on being accompanied by Palestinian journalists and fixers (Kuttab, 1993). Moreover, some news agencies like Reuters (VisNews at the time) and Associated Press, started using Palestinian cameramen inside Palestinian cities, villages and Refugee Camps to capture footage of events that were hard to cover, specially when taking place in dangerous areas or at night.

Eventually, and as time passed, Palestinian cameramen, journalists and producer picked up professional television skills and thought of “how to make television economically possible in a political vital struggle” (Kuttab, 1993). Those enthusiastic professionals were encouraged then to make their own television productions (Masri, 17.11.2000).

In the last years of Israeli Occupation, the Israeli authorities started giving licenses for television transmission to few people and companies in Arab communities/cities inside Israeli. Because of the close distance between those Arab-Israeli cities and Palestinian cities in the north of the West Bank, and upon the economic success for the stations, some Palestinians in the north started to adopt the idea mainly for economic reasons (Nazzal, 20.5.2000).

The Palestinian Broadcasting Corporation (PBC) was immediately established after the redeployment of the Israeli Occupation forces, and according to the agreements signed between the PLO and the Israeli Government Palestinians had “the right to build and operate separate and independent communication systems and infrastructures including telecommunications networks, a television network and a radio network” (DOP, 1993). Ever since, Palestine TV is working under the umbrella of PBC and is controlled by the Palestinian National Authority (PNA), although the intention for the station was to be independent (Pick, 1997). Due to political and financial considerations, Palestine TV was put under direct control of the PNA; as a result Palestine TV is closely affiliated to the PNA and is under its direct censorship. “Palestine TV is facing major problems on different levels, mainly the transmission capacity, programming and content that do not meet with the needs of the Palestinian Public” (Masri, 17.11.2000).

The establishment of Palestine TV opened job opportunities to many Palestinian media professionals, including those who returned from outside (UNICEF, 1999). Employment at Palestine TV is administrated by a hierarchy system. Those professionals found themselves forced to leave due to professional considerations and unfair hierarchy system. After leaving, some established their own private television stations and found that, unlike working at Palestine TV, “the division of labor that differentiates management from labor, or administration from performance is kept as small as particles and accomplished by role relation, teamwork or task sharing and the diffusion of specialized knowledge through internal education” (Hochheimer 1997). People in private TV stations who occupy “leading positions in certain tasks may be required to be followers in others, thus diffusing hierarchy throughout the organization” (Hochheimer 1997).

In an attempt to find an alternative to the government controlled television station; Palestinian media professionals started thinking of establishing their own private television stations to challenge mainly the style and content of Palestine TV.

“Alternative media can be found in any context where mass media exist or are emerged” (Lewis, 1995). The political situation, and the social context allowed the establishment of such alternative TV stations. Politically, for the first time, Palestinians were able to rule themselves, establish their own governmental and non-governmental institutions. The establishment of the Palestinian Ministry of Information and the eagerness for independence and democracy, in addition to the Ministry’s belief in pluralism, competition and diversity that encouraged many Palestinian media professionals and investors to establish their own television stations (Masri, 17.11.2000).

The social context also played a role in the establishment of private television in Palestine. The diversity of political, factional and social contexts that existed in the Palestinian society during the years of Israeli Occupation, still exist under the rule of the PNA (Masri, 17.11.2000). In addition to ‘Localism’ in the Palestinian society, where local residents of an area are attached and affiliated to each other. All these elements have created special needs for the different social, political and local groups (Masri, 17.11.2000). Although, all private TV stations were originally established to service local communities, currently most of the well-established stations are able to transmit nation-wide, across the West Bank, the Gaza strip and even across borders to Jordan.

The first private television station was established in 1994 in the town of Nablus north of the West Bank. The owner of the station was a Physics student at A-Najah University in Nablus who made his own television transmitter ranging 60 square meters and was displayed in an exhibition at the University on the occasion of its 75^th anniversary (Daraghmeh, 2000). After his graduation, Ayman Al-Nimer and his colleague Saleem Sweidan established the first private television station ‘Nablus TV’. According to Al-Nimer, his station functioned for few months illegally, and “we avoided mentioning our names, but aired songs, video films, and used to re-broadcast programs picked up from Arab satellite Channels” (Daraghmeh, 2.3.2000). When the PNA did not interfere or object to the transmission, the owners were encouraged to apply for a ‘no objection’ permit and the station was officially registered (Daraghmeh, 2.3.2000).

With the success of Nablus TV, other investors and media professionals in the city and in other cities were encouraged to establish their own stations. The existence of private television stations was widely accepted and appreciated by the public, since it came as an alternative to the monopoly of the Israeli TV and Arab state-controlled TV stations. In addition, many parts of the West Bank, especially in the north were not able to pick up the transmission of Palestine TV (Pick, 1997). Moreover, Palestine TV does not represent the diversity of the Palestinian society, but even marginalize some groups such as the opposition and people with special needs (Appendix E, item 11). Private television as an alternative to the mainstream TV station “enable diverse social groups and organizations to express alternative view points” (Curran, 1996). Although Palestine TV produces programs that people want to watch, these programs still reflect the point of view of the government. Private TV stations produce programs of a different nature that are close to the needs of people. Talk shows are one example of how ordinary people are represented. Such programs “assist the realization of objectives of the society through agreement or compromise between opposed groups” (Curran 1996). (Appendix E, item 3,7 & 11).

The agenda of Palestine TV does not necessarily take into considerations the needs of the public, but is focused on its political issues related to the peace process, and mainly coverage of President Arafat’s activities. Palestine TV “broadcasts news related to the President, then news related to the officials in the PNA, and only then they remember issues that do not relate to the authority”(Pick, 1997) (Appendix E, item 13). Therefore Palestine TV is not considered a representative to public’s needs but a voice of the government. The experience of Palestine TV in this regard is not different from other experiences in the world. According to Hochheimer (1997) in Organizing Democratic Radio: Issues in Praxis “from their inception, the media of electronic communication have been structured to benefit the interest of political, military and economic power, as constituted within the control of the few” (Hochheimer 1997). Palestine TV does not allow different groups to express their viewpoints, and is never critical to the PNA. Private television stations, to a certain extend, are means to “promote the conditions in which alternative viewpoints and perspectives are brought fully into play” (Curran, 1996).

Today there are 31 private television stations in the West Bank (Appendix A) and one potential station in Gaza, that was granted a ‘temporary license’ (Masri, 17.11.2000) but still not functioning for technical reasons and due to the Israeli imposed closure on the Gaza strip that does not allow the already bought transmitter to cross the borders (Shehadah, 25.3.2001).

Private television stations in Palestine are not identical. The large number of existing television stations has shown differences between them. These differences vary from one station to another depending on the structure of the station, its policies, its legality, the professional team, equipment, and financial income.

2:1 Structures of Private Television Stations

When talking about the structure of private television stations in Palestine, one has to remember the circumstances under which these stations are working. It is obvious from the discussion in Chapter 1, that Palestinians inside Palestine have never experienced television work, but were rather consumers of television. Initiatives to establish private television stations came in response to political and social factors. Despite that, some private television stations in Palestine managed to well establish themselves, while many still strive for their existence.

Almost all private television stations started with a family enterprise or partnership. Many stations started, and some are still, working from a room in their own houses, or shops, and employ their relatives and family members (Masri, 17.11.2000). The fact that had negative effects on the work of these stations especially when it comes to professional work. The lack of professional human resources in some stations and the presence of well-trained professionals in some others is a major difference. Some small stations are run by a handful number of people who are members of the same family, including children (Nazzal, 20.5.200). Non-educated people who did not even finish their high school run other stations. While educated, trained and well-experienced staff run some stations. The gap between stations is very big and reflected in their programming. (Table 1 shows the education levels of stations managers and the number of employees).

* Number of employees may be inaccurate for taxation reason. It also includes volunteers.

Some television stations follow a clear policy of programming that includes its own production of news and programs in addition to programs re-broadcasted from Arab satellite channels, whether with legal authorization or without. Other stations do not have any policy to follow, but depend on ‘piracy’ of programs from other stations, especially Arab satellite channels (Nazzal, 20.5.2000). “Most of the television stations are primarily for entertainment (chart pie 1) purposes with the exception of Al-Quds Educational Television” (UNICEF, 1999) that broadcasts educational programs (Appendix E, item 6). Likewise, one can find other stations with similar intentions and aims of contributing to the community to achieve the national, cultural and political rights, and help build a civil society by means of empowering democracy, multiplicity and emphasis on positive social behaviors. But at the same time there are stations that are absent of all these issues (Nazzal, 20.5.2000). A number of private television stations have the capacity not only to broadcast entertaining programs but also programs of a social interest (UNICEF, 1999). Although during the first three months of Al-Aqsa Intifada (October 2000 – January 2001) political programs dominated over other programs (personal observation), currently stations are back to normal.

Chart pie 1: Programs shown by private TV in relation to its content

Source: Questionnaire

The other major structural problem is the type of equipment used in the different stations. Almost most of the stations do not have equipment that can transmit broadcast quality; however, there are few stations that use equipment of a better quality than others. While the majority of stations use VHS for recording and broadcasting, other stations use SVHS for recording but use VHS for transmitting, and others use SVHS for both recording and transmitting. Only three stations would use Beta or Digital for recording, but use SVHS for broadcasting. From (Table 2) one can see that the majority of stations use SVHS for broadcasting which is not of a broadcast quality and standard. In addition, all of the stations are located in buildings that were built for commercial use and not designed to host TV stations (Questionnaire). Moreover few stations are operating from a one-room set up in private houses, with very primitive transmission facility depending on an antenna and a modulator using home VCRs for transmission (Masri, 17.11.2000).

Financially all private television stations, except for Al-Quds Educational TV, depend on revenues coming from commercials in addition to some NGO-funded programs. The production and prices of commercials and advertisements vary from one station to another. While some stations produce commercials in good quality, others produce commercials of cheap quality. This situation has created difficulties to television stations that charge relatively expensive prices (Masri, 17.11.2000). There are no fixed prices for commercials, and some stations do not follow the standards used for commercials, for example, a commercial must not exceed the duration of 60 seconds, the total commercial time must not exceed 8 minutes per hour, the quality and clarity of the commercial, etc. (Nazzal, 20.5.2000). Such differences have eventually created problem among television stations especially in those cities where many stations are located.

Table 2: Equipment used in private TV stations

Another problem is that some stations use the policy of jamming of other stations’ transmission stations created in order to gain customers. In the city of Nablus, for example, some stations started using transmitters that would jam the transmission of other stations in an attempt to attract customers of the jammed stations. High competition between the stations and the overcrowded market of TV stations led to the fallback of the advertising market (Daraghmeh, 2.3.2000). (Table 3 shows the distribution of private TV stations in the one city in relation to the number of population).

Table 3: Distribution of TV stations in relation to the number Population

Source: Questionnaire and - Palestinian Academic Society for the Study of International Affairs (PASSIA diary 2001)

*Jerusalem is still under total Israeli control

Another reason for the jamming is the fact that there are no free frequencies that could be used freely by the stations. This is due to the political agreements with the Israelis and the International Communication Union (ICU). The Palestinian-Israeli agreement gave Palestinians the right to use six fixed frequencies (Table 4) that were extensively used by the Palestinian TV. Currently Palestine TV is using 13 frequencies (Table 5) gained over the years through negotiations with the Israelis, but there is no official agreement on these frequencies (Abdallah, 25.1.2001). As a result, most of private TV stations use non-free and non-clean frequencies; moreover, few stations have to change the frequencies they use from time to time (Nazzal, 20.5.2000). (Table 6 shows the frequencies used by private television stations)

Source: Palestinian Ministry of Telecommunications (not published)

2:2 Legal and Regularity Framework for Private Television Stations

Media all over the world are regulated by “rules and procedures applied by governments and other political administrative authorities” (McQuail, 1995). The main objective for regulating the media is to “secure economic, legal and technical environment in which to operate” (McQuail, 1995). Regulating the media does not mean censorship, but rather setting ground rules for media organizations to work by.

Among other forms of media, and unlike print media, for example, broadcasting is “subject to a degree of special regulation beyond the general law of libel, confidentiality, obscenity, and so on” (Barendt, 1995). The different political and social systems give different justifications why radio and television should be subject to strict regulations (McQuail, 1995). Theses justifications vary between the “prevention of monopoly, the protection of differing versions of public service values, the provision of choice, in terms of product, political viewpoint and cultural diversity and the application of essentially paternalistic censorship” (Feintuck, 1999).

In a more specific justification, academic debate among scholars justifies the regulation of radio and television by four main rationales. The first is referred to airwaves being a “public resource, [therefore] the government (or some agency on its behalf) is entitled to license their use for broadcasting on the terms it sees fit” (Barendt, 1995). The second rationale is related to the use of limited frequencies. “It is impossible for everyone to acquire a license to broadcast or to enjoy access to the air his or her views on radio or television (whether public or private)” (Barendt, 1995). The third rational is because television and radio are thought to be “more influential on public than the press” (Barendt, 1995). Moreover, broadcast media are easy to enter homes and hard to control than print media. Therefore, and even in the most liberal social systems broadcast media are regulated, especially television. The fourth rationale considers broadcast media “a new means of communication and [therefore] it is understandable that the society has wanted to regulate it” (Barendt, 1995), in order to correct the shortcomings of the press.

Like any other media in the world, Palestinian media (print and broadcast) are regulated by law. The Press Law was issued in Gaza on June 25^th, 1995 by a special Presidential Decree and regulates the work of all media in Palestine and guarantees its freedom (Ministry of Information, 1995).

Article 2 Although the Palestinian Press Law doesn’t refer clearly to broadcasting, but Palestinian radio and television (both public and private) are regulated by the Press Law due to the absence of an Audio-Visual Law (Masri, 17.11.2000). A draft Audio-Visual Law was submitted to the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC) for discussion, but was not passed yet due to political difficulties and the absence of a Palestinian-Israeli agreement over frequencies (Masri, 17.11.2000).

Article 3 of the draft Audio-Visual Law says (unofficial translation):

On June 6^th, 1997 Palestinian President Yasser Arafat signed a Ministerial Decision that guarantees “the freedom of opinion and expression to all social and political groups” (Masri 17.11.2000) and assigned the Palestinian Minister of Information to form a Technical Coordination Committee “for the regulation of the work of private television and radio stations, and to guarantee its commitment to the rules, especially the Press Law” (Abed Rabbo, 4.6.1997). The committee was established and chaired by Yasser Abed Rabbo, Palestinian Minister of Information. Members of the committee are General Director of Publications at the Ministry of Information, representatives of the Ministry of Interior, the Ministry of Information, the Palestinian Broadcasting Corporation (PBC), the Ministry of Telecommunication, the Ministry of Culture, the Ministry of Trade and Economy, the Ministry of Finance, three technical experts, and a legal expert appointed by the Minister of Information (Abed Rabbo, 4.6.1997).

The Technical Coordination Committee has set the ground rules for licensing of any private television station. “Applications for a license must be submitted to the Publications Department at the Ministry of Information that offers a ‘temporary license’ and has the final say in this regard. In addition, the application must be submitted to the Ministry of Interior for security reasons and for a certificate of ‘good conduct’ of the applicant. The applicant is also requested to get the signature of the Ministry of Telecommunications, since the establishment of a television station has to do with frequencies” (Masri, 17.11.2000). If all these signatures are secured and if all conditions of capital and ownership are fulfilled, the Minister of Information signs a ‘temporary license’ allowing the opening of a television station.

In a meeting held on April 17^th, 2000 in the West Bank town of Ramallah, representatives of The Ministry of Information, representatives of private TV stations and media professionals (including myself) discussed a Temporary Draft Regulation System, and agreed on the following: (unofficial translation)

                    1- Ownership:

· The owner must be a Palestinian individual, registered company or an NGO. A company must be officially registered at the Ministry of Trade and Economy.

2- Employment

· The minimum number staff working at a television station must be 12.

· The editor in chief or manager must be a media person, or a person with minimum three-year media experience.

· The editor in chief or manager must fluently speak and write Arabic.

· The editor in chief or manager should not be managing more than one TV station.

· The editor in chief or manager must be of a good conduct.

· The editor in chief or manager must be living in Palestine.

· The editor in chief or manager must not be with immunity.

· The conditions applied to the editor in chief or manager, are also applied to the news editor.

· Every station must employ an Arabic Language expert.

· The TV station must submit a list of staff names, their contracts and tax registration to the Ministry of Information.

3- Headquarters:

· The station must be located in a well-facilitated building, and should have an isolated studio, control room, editing suite(s), archive, phone and fax lines. Any changes or renovations must be officially reported to the Ministry of Information.

4- Equipment:

· The station must use good quality equipment (SVHS as a minimum), and must guarantee the safety of individuals and environment. Equipment used must be of a quality that would not interfere with other stations’ frequencies. All transmission equipment must be registered at the Ministry of Telecommunications. Any change in equipment must be reported to the Ministry.

5- Frequencies:

· The transmission frequency must be booked through the Ministry of Telecommunications, taking into consideration not to jam or harm the transmission of other stations.

6- Programs:

· Programs must respect the humanity of individuals, the freedom of others, diversity and multiplicity. Programs must guarantee freedom of expression, objectivity, and keep public order and security requirements.

· The station must be committed to broadcast a minimum of 25% local production.

· The station must be committed to broadcast 5 hours of public service weekly.

· The station must provide the Ministry of Information with a three-month program cycle.

· Any program aired by the station must be kept for the minimum period of two weeks.

· Stations must be committed not to broadcast any material prohibited by the Press Law of 1995.

· Local production must take into consideration quality and diversity.

· Stations must provide the audience with beneficial programs that respect individual intelligence.

· The Ministry of Information encourages stations to exchange locally produced programs.

7- Broadcasting from Satellite Channels:

· It is strictly forbidden to carry live broadcast of satellite channels. It is also forbidden to re-broadcast any material taken from satellite channels without the approval of that satellite channel and the Ministry of Information. Such act would be illegal and would subject the station to legal questioning.

· All stations will be given a period of six months to settle down matters with satellite channels.

8- Capital:

· The minimum capital to start a TV station is One Hundred Thousand US Dollars ($100,000).

· A bank certificate of the capital must be submitted to the Ministry of Information.

9- Licensing:

· The Ministry of Information, and according to the Ministerial Decision of 6.6.1997, is the only ministry or government institution officially responsible for licensing, supervising, and providing services to private television stations.

· The Minister of Information has the right to grant or deny a license for new TV stations, taking into consideration the number of TV stations in the area where the new station is to be opened, the frequencies available, the market demand and the social demand.

· If the Ministry of Information finds the applicant fitting criteria set by this document and after the approval of the Ministry of Telecommunications in terms of available frequencies and the approval of the Ministry of Interior, applications for new TV stations will go through three stages:

a- The Ministry of Information gives an initial approval, under the condition that all technical requirements are ready during a period of maximum one month.

b- The new station will be given a maximum three-month period of experimental transmission.

c- If proven successful during the experimental period, the station will be granted a ‘temporary license’ for one year, renewable.

· License Fee: The annual license fee is Three Thousand Israeli Shequals, the equivalent of Seven Hundred and Thirty US Dollars ($730).

10- If a TV station does not follow the regulations, the Ministry has the right to the following:

· If the violation is the first of its kind, the station will be fined with 500 Jordan Dinars, the equivalent of Seven Hundred and Twenty US Dollars ($720).

· In case the violation is repeated, the Minister of Information has the right to stop the TV station from transmission, and report to the Attorney General and to all other related ministries.

· In the case of a third violation, the Minister of Information has the right to suspend transmission for a period of one to three months, and report to the Attorney General and to all other related ministries.

· In case of a forth violation, the Minister of Information has the right to finally close down the TV station, and report to the Attorney General and to all other related ministries.

11- Advertising:

· It is normal that advertising would be the main financial source of income for TV stations, but it is also the stations’ obligation to look after what is being advertised and guarantee that the content of the advertisements does not harm the health of individuals or violate the laws of the Ministry of Health.

· Advertisements must be professionally produced, clear and easy to understand. It also must be produced in a way to be distinguished from other programs.

· Advertisements are allowed to be aired in between programs and during programs, under the condition of keeping the unity of the program, and in a way that would not violate copyrights and intellectual property.

· A station must not exceed eight minutes of advertising per hour.

12- Foreign Aid and Assistance:

· A TV station must depend financially on legal sources that are publicly known. It is strictly forbidden to get any foreign aid, financial support or direction.

· Any station willing to get any non-governmental foreign aid or assistance must apply to the Ministry of Information, before receiving it.

13- All station will be given the period of three months (May, June and July 2000) to implement the above mentioned regulations. By the end of this period, the Minister of Information has the right to close down any station that does not fit the criteria.

Unfortunately, these regulations are widely being violated by different stations. The eruption of Al-Aqsa Intifada in September 2000 prevented the Ministry of Information from taking any legal steps to shut down stations violating the regulations (Masri, 17.11.2000). Violations are mostly evident in the fields related to employment, headquarters, equipment, programs, advertising and broadcasting from satellite.

In the field of employment, (table 1) shows that there are station that employ less than 12 people. As for an Arabic language expert, the majority of the stations do not employ one (Questionnaire). According to Hani Masri, Director General of the Publication department at the Ministry of Information not all stations have submitted a list of employees to the Ministry.

As for headquarters and equipment, the questionnaire shows that not all stations have the proper set up as requested by the Ministry. Moreover, (table 2) shows that out of 31 TV stations, 14 stations use VHS equipment, which is a clear violation to the regulations.

In terms of programs, it is true that all stations are committed to the 25% of local production, but the understanding of local production is not clear to many stations. Most of the stations consider live talk shows, for example, local production. While others mean by local production, well prepared children programs, documentaries, drama, etc. (Masri, 17.11.2000). (Chart pie 2) shows that the 50% of programs aired by TV stations are talk shows (25% recorded and 25% live) and (Chart pie 3) shows the percentage of local production.

One of the major problems the Ministry is facing is the issue of satellite piracy. 50% of programs shown by private TV stations are taken from Arab Satellite channels (Chart pie 3). Only few channels have official agreements with satellite channels to re-broadcast some of their programs (Daraghmeh, 2.3.2000).

Chart pie 2: Programs shown by private TV in relation to style

Source: Questionnaire

Advertising, as shown by (Chart pie 4) is the main source of income for TV stations, except for Al-Quds Educational Television that is a non-prophet organization financed by donations and aid from Palestinian local NGOs, and International organizations like USAID, UNDP, UNICEF, Ford Foundation and others (Kuttab, 30.1.2001). The dependency of private TV stations on advertising has created problems among stations, especially when it comes to quality, price and timing (Nazzal, 20.5.2000)

Chart pie 4: Source of income for private TV stations

Source: Questionnaire

TV stations, on one hand, are violating the regulations set by the Ministry of Information and approved by the majority of the stations. On the other hand, the Ministry of Information did not set a good example of commitment and has itself violated the regulations, especially in regard to point 9 of the earlier mentioned regulations that says clearly that “the Ministry of Information, and according to the Ministerial Decision of 6.6.1997, is the only ministry or government institution officially responsible for licensing, supervising, and providing services to private television stations”. The Ministry of Information actually is not the only ministry or government institution that is supervising private television stations, but the different Palestinian Security forces are taking the responsibility of supervising and even censoring private TV in Palestine.

3:3 The Palestinian National Authority and Private Television Stations

The relationship between private television stations and the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) over the past seven years has taken the shape of two forms. On the one hand, the PNA allowed private television stations to exists for three main reasons “first, it wanted to set facts on the ground in terms of occupying as much television frequencies as possible. Second, was the fear that Israel, may at some point, close down or attack the government owned Palestinian TV and third is because people at the Ministry of Information, especially the Minister who believes in freedom of expression” (Kuttab, 30.1.2001). On the other hand the PNA has tried on different occasions to suppress these stations by closing down a number of them for different periods of time and by arresting owners or journalists working at these stations for mainly political reasons. PNA actions against private television in Palestine have widely been condemned by Palestinian and International human rights organizations, and even by people within the PNA.

Not all Palestinian officials of the PNA share the same point of views regarding private television stations. “Officials like governors, mayors, PLC members, many ministers and the Ministry of Information have worked actively to prevent any action taken by the PNA against private television stations, and are actually maintaining good relations with these stations because they want their voices to be heard by the local community. Television stations are one of the best means available to make this come true. The major problem is with the security apparatus and the Ministry of Interior” (Kuttab, 30.1.2001), in addition to the opposition of the PBC to the existence of private TV stations which was publicly announced by the chairman of the PBC, when he demanded the PNA to shut down these stations (Masri, 17.11.2000).

All Palestinian official statement and laws state that the freedom of expression is guaranteed. The Palestinian Declaration of Independence of November 15^th, 1988 sates that:

This commitment to the freedom of expression was “embodied in all [draft] versions of the Palestinian Basic Law, article 27” (UNICEF, 1999) that states (unofficial translation):

The Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC) passed the Palestinian Basic Law, but still is not ratified by the Palestinian President (Amnesty, 2000).

Private television stations in Palestine work under the umbrella of the Palestinian Press Law of 1995, already discussed in the second section of this chapter. According to Palestinian and International human rights organizations this law “gives the PNA very wide powers to regulate the media by prohibiting a whole range of information, including any information of which may harm national unity” (Amnesty, 2000).

Article 7 of the Press Law prohibits the publication or transmission of “any material that may contradict the principles of freedom, national responsibilities, human rights and the respects of truth” (Ministry of Information, 1995). Concepts like ‘national responsibility’; ‘national unity’ and the ‘respect of truth’ are general and vague, and therefore could be interpreted in different ways (Al-Fased, 1999). The Press Law also restricts the “publication of confidential information about police, security forces, secret documents of the Palestinian National Council, the Cabinet, minutes of court hearings before a final court decision is taken and information that may humiliate religions or shakes confidence in the national currency” (Al-Fased, 1999). Such broad, general and vague provisions are open to abuse by the different security forces of the PNA.

In addition to the legal framework, political agreements between the PNA and Israel have forced the PNA to take actions against private television stations. Article 22 of The Palestinian-Israeli Interim Agreement on the West bank and The Gaza Strip says, “Israel and the [Palestinian] Council shall seek to foster mutual understanding and tolerance and shall accordingly abstain from incitement, including hostile propaganda, against each other and, without derogating from the principle of freedom of expression, shall take legal measures to prevent such incitement by any organizations, groups or individuals within their jurisdiction” (JMCC, 1996).

The Wye River Memorandum, signed between the PNA and the Israeli Government in Washington on October 23, 1998 clearly talks about measure to be taken to prevent incitement “drawing on relevant international practice and pursuant to Article XXII (1) of the Interim Agreement and the Note for the Record, the Palestinian side will issue a decree prohibiting all forms of incitement to violence or terror, and establishing mechanisms for acting systematically against all expressions or threats of violence or terror. This decree will be comparable to the existing Israeli legislation which deals with the same subject” (JMCC, 1998). The same memorandum describes how monitory must be done “a U.S.- Palestinian-Israeli committee will meet on a regular basis to monitor cases of possible incitement to violence or terror and to make recommendations and reports on how to prevent such incitement. The Israeli, Palestinian and U.S. sides will each appoint a media specialist, a law enforcement representative, an educational specialist and a current or former elected official to the committee” (JMCC, 1998).

As a result, and in commitment to the agreements signed with the Israeli Government, the PNA in November 1998 issued the Presidential Decree No. 3 Concerning the Strengthening of National Unity and the Prohibition of Incitement that “goes far beyond prohibiting all forms of incitement to violence or terror and punishes a broad range of speech including forms of expressions protected under international human rights law” (Amnesty, 2000).

In light of these legal and political considerations, the relationship between the PNA and private television stations during the past seven years was not of its best form. But at the same time, there is no doubt that without the help of the PNA, these stations would have not existed. Although, PNA violations to the freedom of expression and actions taken against these stations are worrying.

According to Palestinian and International human rights organizations including the Palestinian Independent Commission for Citizen’s Rights (PICCR), the International Press Institute (IPI) and Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) the relationship between private television stations and the PNA did not improve over the past three years. Closure of private television stations and the arrests of owners and journalists working at these stations were mainly for political reasons and during critical political situations, although there were few incidents when some stations were closed for religious reasons. On April 26^th, 1999, for example, Palestinian security forces ordered Al-Amal TV station in Hebron to “closed for nearly three weeks after it broadcast a controversial program on Islam” (IPI, 2000). In a similar incident Shepherds (Al-Roa’) TV in Bethlehem was closed down on May 17^th, 1999 by the PNA for showing a play “allegedly inciting communal strife in its broadcast of containing religious themes” (CPJ, 2000). The play according to officials in the Ministry of Interior “planted sedition between the Moslems and Christians in the town where Jesus was born” (IPI, 2000). The closure of Shepherds (Al-Roa’) TV was not the first of its kind, although different reasons were given. “On February 16, 1998, more than a 100 policemen forced the station off the air after it broadcast coverage of pro-Iraqi demonstration in the West Bank … the station remained banned for nearly five months until authorities allowed it to resume broadcasting in July 1999” (CPJ, 2000). (Appendix E, item 1).

(Table 7 lists all documented actions taken against private TV stations)

 

Date	Station / Name of person	Action	Alleged Reasons
20.5.1997	Al-Quds Educational TV- Ramallah Daoud Kuttab	Jammed Arrested for 8 days	Security
25.9.1997	Afaq TV- Nablus Issa Abu Al-Iz	Closed Arrested	Security
16.2.1998	Shepherds (Al-Roa’) - Bethlehem	Closed	Security
21.2.1998	Seven journalists working at Shepherds (Al-Roa’) - Bethlehem	Arrested	Security and in relation to crisis in Iraq
Feb. 1998	Al-Mahd TV – Bethlehem	Closed	Security and in relation to crisis in Iraq
Feb. 1998	Bethlehem TV - Bethlehem	Closed	Security and in relation to crisis in Iraq
Feb. 1998	Wattan TV - Ramallah	Closed	Security and in relation to crisis in Iraq
Feb. 1998	An-Naser TV- Ramallah	Closed	Security and in relation to crisis in Iraq
18.2.1998	All private TV and Radio stations	Signed a pledge to refrain from broadcasting material related to Iraq	Security and in relation to crisis in Iraq
26.4.1999	Amal TV –Hebron	Closed	Religious
17.5.1999	Shepherds (Al-Roa’) - Bethlehem	Closed	Religious
15.9.1999	Al-Quds Educational TV and An-Naser TV - Ramallah Maher Al-Dasouki	Censored Arrested for 19 days	Denouncing Palestinian President and dangerous security reasons
21.5.2000	Wattan TV – Ramallah	Closed	For protesting against the closure of An-Naser TV
27.5.2000	Maher Al-Dassouki Ayman Bardaweel Walid Batrawi	Held at Police station	Criticizing the closure of TV stations
30.5.2000	An-Naser TV – Ramallah	Closed	Security
1.6.2000	Al-Mahd TV – Bethlehem   Sameer Qumsieh	Closed   Arrested for 3 days	For protesting against the closure of An-Naser TV</