
Farfur. No longer among the living
A Mickey Mouse lookalike
who preached Islamic domination on a Hamas-affiliated children's television program was the victim of a pretend beating death in the show's final episode Friday.
"Farfur was martyred while defending his land," said Sara, the teen presenter. He was killed "by the killers of children," she added.
In the final skit, the "Farfur" character was killed by an actor posing as an Israeli official trying to buy Farfur's land. At one point, the mouse called the Israeli a "terrorist."
Criticism
Yaakov Lappin
(VIDEO) Diane Disney says Palestinian group is 'pure evil' for using character to incite children to violence
The weekly show, featuring a giant black-and-white rodent with a high-pitched voice, had attracted worldwide attention because the character urged Palestinian children to fight Israel. It was broadcast on Hamas-affiliated al-Aqsa TV.
Station officials said Friday that Farfour was taken off the air to make room for new programs. Station manager Mohammed Bilal said he did not know what would be shown instead.
Israeli officials have denounced the program, "Tomorrow's Pioneers," as incendiary and outrageous. The program was also opposed by the state-run Palestinian Broadcasting Corp., which is controlled by Fatah, Hamas' rival.