New IBA chief bans use of term 'settlements'

Yosef Barel, expected to be formally appointed by the government on Sunday as the new director general of the Israel Broadcasting Authority, issued orders Thursday to the IBA's editorial departments prohibiting the use of the term "settlers" on radio and TV broadcasts.

Barel told editors that a person's place of residence should be named, but the term "settler" or "settlements" can be used.

Barel did not answer News Director Rafik Halaby's question about how to distinguish between Jewish and Arab residents of Hebron, for example.

It is not clear if the editors will obey the order. Yesterday during the day on the radio, the term was still being used.

The Barel instructions came after Environmental Affairs Minister Tzachi Hanegbi, of the Likud, told Barel he should "put an end to the frequent use of the term 'settler'" in the IBA broadcasts.

Senior sources in the IBA said they believed the Barel order was meant to win Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's confidence