Israeli soldiers raided two Palestinian television stations in the occupied West Bank today, seizing transmitters the military said were interfering with air traffic communications. Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad visited one of the stations, Watan TV in Ramallah, and said the Israeli operation was “oppressive and monstrous” and violated “all international laws”.
The Israeli military said Watan TV and Alquds educational television, which is also based in Ramallah, had been asked repeatedly by Israel to stop using frequencies that cut into Israeli wireless communications and air traffic control bands. “Soldiers accompanied Communications Ministry officials to the pirate stations … a number of transmitters were seized,” a military spokesman said.
Ahmed Milhem, a Watan TV employee, said the station, owned by local non-governmental organisations, broadcasts news and cultural and political programmes. He said the raid lasted some three hours. “They seized computers, broadcast equipment and administrative files,” Milhem told Reuters by telephone. “The station is now off the air.”
Alquds television said it expected to receive replacement equipment later in the day and begin broadcasting again.
(Source: Reuters)
on Feb 29th, 2012 at 18:47
I’m very curious to the actual frequencies used by Watan TV and the air traffic control frequencies used in that area. I can’t find this information (so far) in any of the news reports on this matter. For what I know of broadcast television frequencies, transmission on or near ATC frequencies makes no sense as no TV set will be able to receive them.
on Feb 29th, 2012 at 23:58
Dear Koos, ever heard of spurious radiation by transmitters, or in normal English, faulty transmitters popping out extra signals on frequencies apart from the selected one, such as in the air band.
on Mar 1st, 2012 at 10:17
I learned that VHF band I tv frequencies are still in use in the Middle East, which means interference can occur from harmonics and/or mixing products. I’d still like to know actual numbers.
on Mar 3rd, 2012 at 15:43
They are probably using some UHF frequency. In the Palestinian territory theya re still using analogue terrestrial broadcasting and these channels and many radio services ( both Palestinian and Israeli pirate radios) have caused real communications problems to the Ben-Gurion Airport.