Soccer announcer charged over interview with Hamas TV, praise for terror groups
Said Hassanin, who was fired from jobs with the Bnei Sakhnin soccer team and Nas Radio, indicted after interview with Hamas’s Al Aqsa TV station in which he praised terror group
Jeremy Sharon is The Times of Israel’s legal affairs and settlements reporter
Said Hassanin, an Arab Israeli journalist and sports announcer, was indicted on Wednesday on charges of having contact with foreign agents and identifying with a terrorist organization following an interview he did with a Hamas-run TV station.
The indictment, filed by the State Attorney’s Office at the Haifa District Court, described Hassanin, 62, from Shfaram, as a “well-known and influential figure” in the Arab community, who alongside his work as a stadium announcer for the Bnei Sakhnin soccer team also worked as a journalist and radio broadcaster.
On February 22, Hassanin was interviewed by Hamas’s Al Aqsa TV station, which was blacklisted as a terrorist entity in 2019 under the terms of the Law for Combating Terrorism.
In the interview, Hassanin described the Hamas as “the Islamic resistance” and said that the terror organization had treated the hostages it seized from Israel in its October 7, 2023, massacre “in a totally humane manner, in accordance with Islamic law, and proved to the entire world that the Islamic resistance, Hamas, protects human dignity and the dignity of women taken captive by the Hamas movement on October 7.”
Hassanin, an editor at the Nas Radio station, also suggested that freed hostage Omer Shem Tov kissed the head of his captor while being paraded on a stage in Gaza ahead of his release out of his free will, in order to thank them for treating him “humanely and with respect” during his time in captivity.
The journalist also criticized Arab Israelis who serve in the IDF, calling them “weak-minded people” who “serve the enemy.” He said that anybody who considers “joining the occupying army should think a million times where he’s going.”
In a separate interview with the Qudsna Palestinian television channel, Hassanin expressed praise for the leader of the Hezbollah terror organization, Hassan Nasrallah, who was eliminated by Israel, saying that “it would not have been honorable for Hassan Nasrallah to die other than in this manner, he wanted to die as a martyr and he did die as a martyr.”
Having contact with a foreign agent is punishable in Israel by up to 15 years in prison, while expressing identification with a terror organization is punishable by up to three years in prison.
According to the Sport1 news site, Hassanin’s attorney, Alaa Mahajna, maintains that his client did not know that the Al Aqsa TV station had been declared a terrorist entity in 2019, and that his entire connection with the network was an interview lasting a few minutes.
Mahajna said Hassanin is a “completely law-abiding person whose entire life is tied to sports” and who has never been investigated for any wrongdoing in the past.
Two days after the interview, the Bnei Sakhnin team said that Hassanin was no longer serving as its announcer. In its statement at the time, the team said that while Hassanin had claimed his remarks were “taken out of context,” the decision was made to terminate his role, and stressed that his comments do not represent the team.
He was also fired from his job at Nas Radio.
Police arrested Hassanin late last month following an investigation into his remarks. His remand was extended four times by the Acre Magistrate’s Court.
Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.
