Hamas TV show criticised by animal rights activists

A show on Hamas TV depicting a man in a bee suit abusing cats and lions at a Gaza Strip zoo today drew protests from the animal rights group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals.

In the segment on the children’s programme Tomorrow’s Pioneers, one of the show’s characters, a human-sized bee named Nahoul, swings cats around by their tails and throws stones at lions through the bars in their cage at the zoo.

Aimed at teaching children not to abuse animals, the images are followed by a warning from the show’s young host that children should not imitate Nahoul’s behaviour.

The sketch drew the attention of the US-based Peta after it was picked up by Palestinian Media Watch, a watchdog group that monitors Palestinian media outlets for bias against Israel, and posted on YouTube.

“They say this is supposed to be educational on how not to treat animals, but it is common knowledge that children will mimic the behaviour they see,” Peta spokesman Martin Mersereau said. “This will not win Hamas any sympathy now the world sees how they teach their children cruelty.”

Animal abuse should not be ignored even in places where violence against humans is common, Mersereau said. Israeli troops regularly clash in Gaza with Palestinian militants who fire rockets at Israeli towns. Six Palestinians, four of them armed militants, were killed in fighting on Tuesday.

“Teaching people to respect the most defenceless of animals helps people respect each other,” Mersereau said.

The Hamas TV children’s show has come under fire before. Until June, it featured a character in a Mickey Mouse suit named Farfour, who preached against Israel and the United States until an episode portrayed him being beaten to death by an actor playing an Israeli agent. The character drew condemnations from Israel and from Walt Disney CEO Robert Iger, who said he was “appalled.”

Hamas, an Islamic group with close ties to Iran, has ruled the Gaza Strip since June, when the group's militants defeated the rival Fatah movement in five days of fighting.