- DAMASCUS: Workers at the Hamas TV channel's office in Syria have staged a sit-in to protest the decision by a France-based satellite provider to halt its broadcasts to Europe and parts of the Arab world.
In Paris, Eutelsat spokeswoman Vanessa O'Connor said Tuesday that the French broadcasting regulator CSA last week ordered it to stop beaming the Hamas channel into Europe by June 26.
The decision came because of concerns that the channel spreads incitement. It's expected to deprive the Gaza-based Al-Aqsa TV of most of its viewers.
About a dozen employees took part in Wednesday's protest outside the French Embassy in Damascus. They carried banners denouncing the French decision as "outrageous" and illegal.
They also handed over a protest letter to the French ambassador in Syria urging the French government to reverse the decision.
Hamas has denounced the decision as a "flagrant violation" of freedoms of opinion and information.
Al-Aqsa TV is part of a package of channels transmitted by Bahrain-based satellite operator Noorsat, which passes them in a single signal to Eutelsat O'Connor said it was up to Noorsat to block the Al-Aqsa TV signal.