Palestinians slam series promoting Israel ties

Palestinians have been infuriated over broadcasting series that promote normalizing ties with Israel.

The shows, Umm Haroun and Exit 7, being broadcast by the Saudi-run Dubai-based Middle East Broadcasting Center (MBC), sparked anger and provoked backlash among Palestinians on the social media because of controversial content promoting ties with Israel.

 The shows air on MBC each night during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

Musab al-Braim, the spokesman for the Palestinian Islamic Jihad movement, condemned the broadcast, describing as "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 the besieged Gaza Strip, also said the use of television demonstrated the desire to change the impressions of Arabs towards the Palestinian cause.

Hazem Qassem, a spokesman for Hamas, the group that governs the Gaza Strip, also said TV 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,” he was quoted by the media as saying.

AG/AG