The sports section of Hamas’s radio channel in Gaza, Voice of Al-Aqsa, decided not to broadcast any news about Barcelona Football Club after the club invited Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit to attend its match against Real Madrid in October.
Shalit remained captive by Hamas for five years in the Gaza Strip before he was released in October of last year in an exchange deal in which hundreds of Palestinian prisoners in Israel were released.
“Why did they not invite the released Palestinian prisoner Mahmoud al-Sarsak who had gone on hunger strike for over ninety days?” asked sports section director Ahmed Abu Diab.
Hamas also has the terrestrial Al-Aqsa TV channel that broadcasts the Spanish and English football leagues. It is widely watched by the Palestinians of the Strip, as they have no access to the other channels that exclusively broadcast the European leagues.
