Longhornsg: Adding short description: "Defunct Hamas publication"
{{Short description|Defunct Hamas publication}}
'''''Al-Watan''''' ({{lit|The Homeland}}) was a weekly publication issued by [[Hamas]] until its closure in February 1996 after repeated pressure and suspensions by the Palestinian Authority.
==History==
''Al-Watan'' was one of the most important opposition periodicals published in [[Palestinian Authority]] (PA)-controlled areas. PA officials used the ambiguity of the 1995 Palestinian press law and control over granting news licenses to temper criticism and silence opposition voices, including ''al-Watan''.<ref name="Jamal">{{cite journal |last1=Jamal |first1=Amal |title=The Palestinian Media: An Obedient Servant or a Vanguard of Democracy? |journal=[[Journal of Palestine Studies]] |date=Spring 2000 |volume=29 |issue=3 |pages=45-59 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/2676455 |access-date=28 April 2024}}</ref>
In 1995, the PA twice suspended ''al-Watan'' for 3-month periods, beginning in May and in August, without explanation. According to the publication's editor, the August suspension was after al-Watan published an article stating that [[Yasir Arafat]] had accepted money for allowing an European news agency to publish a photograph of his infant daughter.<ref>{{cite news |title=Violations of Freedom of Expression and Association |url=https://www.hrw.org/reports/1997/palestina/Israel-06.htm#P456_90828 |access-date=28 April 2024 |publisher=[[Human Rights Watch]] |date=1997}}</ref>
In May 1995, ''al-Watan'''s editor Sayed Musa Abu Musameh was sentenced to prison for 2 years by the state security court in Gaza on charges of incitement against the PA. When the ban on al-Watan was lifted in October 1995, he was still in prison.<ref name="HRW96">{{cite news |title=Human Rights Watch World Report 1996 - Israeli-Occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip |url=https://www.refworld.org/reference/annualreport/hrw/1996/en/22695 |access-date=28 April 2024 |publisher=[[Human Rights Watch]] |date=1996-01-01}}</ref> In February 1996, Palestinian authorities closed ''al-Watan'' along with al-Istiqlal, the press organ of [[Palestinian Islamic Jihad]].<ref>{{cite news |title=The Occupied Territories Country Report on Human Rights Practices for 1996 |url=https://1997-2001.state.gov/global/human_rights/1996_hrp_report/occterr.html |access-date=28 April 2024 |publisher=[[Department of State]] |date=1997-01-30}}</ref> ''Al-Watan'' was permanently closed in early 1996 following a series of Hamas bombings in Israel.<ref name="Jamal" />
Subsequently, Hamas affiliate [[Islamic Salvation Party]] began publishing ''al-Risala'' (The Message) on 1 January 1997, which while critical of the PA, avoided issues considered too incendiary. Hamas official [[Ghazi Hamad]], chief editor of ''al-Watan'', became head of ''al-Risala''. Nevertheless, ''al-Risala'' was closed several times, including in 1997 after it published an article on Egypt's support of the PA deemed offensive to Egyptian president [[Hosni Mubarak]]. Supreme Court Chief Justice [[Qusai Abdallah]] was forced to resign in January 1998 after giving an interview to ''Al-Risala''.<ref name="Jamal" />
==References==
{{reflist}}
{{Media in Palestine}} {{Hamas}}
[[Category
efunct Arabic-language newspapers]]
[[Category:Mass media in the State of Palestine]]
[[Category:Hamas]]
Okumaya devam et...
{{Short description|Defunct Hamas publication}}
'''''Al-Watan''''' ({{lit|The Homeland}}) was a weekly publication issued by [[Hamas]] until its closure in February 1996 after repeated pressure and suspensions by the Palestinian Authority.
==History==
''Al-Watan'' was one of the most important opposition periodicals published in [[Palestinian Authority]] (PA)-controlled areas. PA officials used the ambiguity of the 1995 Palestinian press law and control over granting news licenses to temper criticism and silence opposition voices, including ''al-Watan''.<ref name="Jamal">{{cite journal |last1=Jamal |first1=Amal |title=The Palestinian Media: An Obedient Servant or a Vanguard of Democracy? |journal=[[Journal of Palestine Studies]] |date=Spring 2000 |volume=29 |issue=3 |pages=45-59 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/2676455 |access-date=28 April 2024}}</ref>
In 1995, the PA twice suspended ''al-Watan'' for 3-month periods, beginning in May and in August, without explanation. According to the publication's editor, the August suspension was after al-Watan published an article stating that [[Yasir Arafat]] had accepted money for allowing an European news agency to publish a photograph of his infant daughter.<ref>{{cite news |title=Violations of Freedom of Expression and Association |url=https://www.hrw.org/reports/1997/palestina/Israel-06.htm#P456_90828 |access-date=28 April 2024 |publisher=[[Human Rights Watch]] |date=1997}}</ref>
In May 1995, ''al-Watan'''s editor Sayed Musa Abu Musameh was sentenced to prison for 2 years by the state security court in Gaza on charges of incitement against the PA. When the ban on al-Watan was lifted in October 1995, he was still in prison.<ref name="HRW96">{{cite news |title=Human Rights Watch World Report 1996 - Israeli-Occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip |url=https://www.refworld.org/reference/annualreport/hrw/1996/en/22695 |access-date=28 April 2024 |publisher=[[Human Rights Watch]] |date=1996-01-01}}</ref> In February 1996, Palestinian authorities closed ''al-Watan'' along with al-Istiqlal, the press organ of [[Palestinian Islamic Jihad]].<ref>{{cite news |title=The Occupied Territories Country Report on Human Rights Practices for 1996 |url=https://1997-2001.state.gov/global/human_rights/1996_hrp_report/occterr.html |access-date=28 April 2024 |publisher=[[Department of State]] |date=1997-01-30}}</ref> ''Al-Watan'' was permanently closed in early 1996 following a series of Hamas bombings in Israel.<ref name="Jamal" />
Subsequently, Hamas affiliate [[Islamic Salvation Party]] began publishing ''al-Risala'' (The Message) on 1 January 1997, which while critical of the PA, avoided issues considered too incendiary. Hamas official [[Ghazi Hamad]], chief editor of ''al-Watan'', became head of ''al-Risala''. Nevertheless, ''al-Risala'' was closed several times, including in 1997 after it published an article on Egypt's support of the PA deemed offensive to Egyptian president [[Hosni Mubarak]]. Supreme Court Chief Justice [[Qusai Abdallah]] was forced to resign in January 1998 after giving an interview to ''Al-Risala''.<ref name="Jamal" />
==References==
{{reflist}}
{{Media in Palestine}} {{Hamas}}
[[Category
efunct Arabic-language newspapers]][[Category:Mass media in the State of Palestine]]
[[Category:Hamas]]
Okumaya devam et...