Palestinian fans turn to Israeli TV for World Cup
Frustrated by poor reception of global sports event on al-Jazeera, West Bank resident Ziad Yunis now watches matches on mute and listens to running commentary in Arabic on radio
Following several days of disappointment at the start of the tournament, the 30-year-old now watches the matches on mute and listens to running commentary in Arabic on the radio.
The widespread reliance on Israeli TV for the Cup comes at a time when the Palestinian Authority is struggling to build the institutions of an independent state in the West Bank, occupied by Israel in the 1967 Six Day War.
Al-Jazeera Sport, which has exclusive transmission rights for the World Cup in the Arab world, has been widely criticized for satellite interference during some of its coverage.
The Qatar-based company declined to comment on the most recent complaints, but had earlier said its broadcast of the opening match was deliberately jammed on the Egypt-based Nilesat and Saudi-based Arabsat satellite networks.
Nilesat said it was investigating the source of the jamming.
Palestinians are avid football fans, and have packed into hotels and restaurants from Gaza City to Ramallah to watch this year's World Cup matches, despite the occasionally poor reception.
Popular among poorer Palestinians
Meanwhile, Ahsan Kamal has been swamped with calls from customers who want him to install Israeli receivers.
"After all the interference on al-Jazeera during the first few matches a lot of Palestinians ordered Israeli receivers," the 40-year-old technician says.
"I've installed Israeli receivers in homes that have subscriptions to al-Jazeera, which means when there is interference they switch to the Israeli satellite."
At just $25 (20 euros) a month, the Israeli subscription is especially popular among poorer Palestinians who cannot afford the $100 (80-euro) al-Jazeera subscription.
An official at Palestine TV, a network run by the Palestinian Authority, said he was not concerned about the reliance on Israeli TV, which he assumed would end with the tournament on July 11.
He added that it worked both ways, saying that in previous years he had heard of West Bank settlers who rigged up aerials to watch Palestinian rebroadcasts of matches for free.
Some local Palestinian stations have tried to rebroadcast the al-Jazeera coverage this year only to be threatened by lawsuits.
Harun Abu Ara, the head of al-Quds educational television, a local Ramallah station, had to stop showing the matches a few days ago when he was warned against doing so by lawyers from Al-Jazeera.
"Since we stopped rebroadcasting the matches we have received dozens of calls a day from customers who were used to watching them on our channel," he said.
"If we are prohibited from rebroadcasting Al-Jazeera, the natural result is that the viewers, especially the poor, are going to turn to Israeli television, because it is cheaper."
