RAMALLAH, Dec 13: In a symbolic blow to Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat’s increasingly shaky rule, Israeli troops destroyed a Palestinian broadcast centre in Ramallah during sweeping retaliatory strikes on the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

But Palestinian media officials vowed to defy Israel’s attempt to “strangle free speech” and continue broadcasting despite the destruction of the main transmitting mast in the West Bank city.

Israel, which has vowed to strike where and when it wants to seize extremists accused of deadly attacks against its citizens, has long accused the official Palestinian media of incitement against the Jewish state.

Overnight, the television and radio broadcasting centre run by the Palestine Broadcasting Corp. was heavily bombed by Israeli helicopters, then bulldozers moved in on Thursday morning and ploughed the last remains into the ground.

Israeli army sappers then blew up the antenna used to transmit programmes across the West Bank.

Since the attack, official Palestinian programming has been produced and broadcast from local independent stations, officials said.

The director of Voice of Palestine radio, Besim Abu Samaya, branded the operation an attempt to strangle free speech and said news and music programmes were going ahead “as usual.”

The radio station was set up by the British authorities who formerly governed Palestine, and has since been used by Jordanian, Israeli and finally Palestinian broadcast services, Abu Samaya said.

The Palestine Broadcasting Corp. was set up in 1994 following the signing of the Oslo peace accords giving the Palestinians limited authority.

In a statement, the Palestinian Television and Radio Broadcasting Authority slammed the Israeli operation.

“This attack shows that Israel has put the final nail into the coffin of what it calls liberty, freedom and democracy and proves that it has taken a final decision to put an end to the peace process or any peace moves.

“Israeli claims that Voice of Palestine fuels incitement are false and indicate Israel’s aggressive attitude towards freedom of expression and human rights.—AFP