Israeli authorities have shut down BBC radio transmitters in the West Bank city of Hebron, accusing them of interfering with Israel's aviation communications, local daily the Jerusalem Post reported Friday.
The action was carried out on Wednesday under orders from the Communications Ministry, which had found the transmitters to be jeopardizing contact between the Ben-Gurion Airport's control tower and passenger aircraft, said the report.
The broadcaster was airing its programs on a wavelength allocated by the Palestinian National Authority, without prior coordination with the Communications Ministry, a government official was quoted as saying.
Meanwhile, a number of transmitters belonging to other broadcasters had also been shut down, including some inside Israel, as they were "endangering civilian aviation, a problem we have been suffering from for a long time," said the official, adding that "we are now trying to solve the problem."
The BBC confirmed the closedown in a statement, while saying that it had not been contacted by the Israeli authorities over this concern since broadcasts started in Hebron in March this year. The broadcaster cautioned that it has implemented technical protocols to prevent interference, yet there are any number of factors that could cause the problem.
(Xinhua News Agency August 22, 2008)
