the aggressor. CNN is the Zionist news network, Al Jazeera is neutral, and Al Manar takes the side of the Palestinians...He said Al Manar's opposition to neutrality means that, unlike Al Jazeera, his station would never feature interviews or comments by Israeli officials. "We're not looking to interview Sharon," Fadlallah said. "We want to get close to him in order to kill him." Accusations and restrictions Designation as a 'terrorist entity' Al-Manar was placed on a US terrorist watchlist in December 2004. Reporters without Borders said that no evidence was presented of Al-Manar's involvement with terrorism. The main evidence provided for Al-Manar being anti-semitic was its partial showing, in October–November 2003, of the Syrian-produced 29-part series Ash-Shatat ("The Diaspora"). Lebanon's ambassador to the United States, Farid Abboud, protested: "If you want simply to demonize or eliminate one side, you're not going to advance the issue. If you are going to focus on one side simply because of the political message, it's unacceptable and it's a grave breach of the freedom of speech.". In March 2006 Al-Manar was designated as a "Specially Designated Global Terrorist entity" by the United States, declaring it "owned or controlled by the Iran-funded Hezbollah terrorist network". As a result, Al-Manar was made subject to US sanctions. Allegations of anti-Semitic programming One of the satellite providers which has transmitted Al-Manar is the French satellite Hot Bird 4, owned by the Eutelsat Satellite organisation. On 13 December 2004, the French Conseil d'État, the highest administrative Court in France, ordered the French-based Eutelsat Company to shut down Al-Manar broadcasts following accusations that its programmes were anti-Semitic and could incite hatred. Al-Manar claims the French decision was political and not legal, influenced by Israel and Jewish lobbies. Banning of broadcasts Al-Manar's broadcasts have been banned by the US, France, Spain, and Germany. After the U.S. Department of State placed Al-Manar on the Terrorist Exclusion List on 17 December 2004, transmissions to North America via Intelsat's satellites were blocked. Javed Iqbal, a resident of New York City is the first person to charged under this law. Iqbal, 45, a Pakistani who had been living in the U.S. for more than 25 years, was charged by federal prosecutors with providing material support to a foreign terrorist organization by broadcasting Al Manar to U.S. customers, in exchange for thousands of dollars payment. In a 2008 plea bargain, he agreed to serve a prison