Hamas battle cartoon mimics "Lion King"

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
For the second time in recent months, the Islamic militant group Hamas is using a Disney character on its television station - this time turning to a Lion King lookalike in a slick cartoon portraying its recent victory over the rival Fatah movement. The cartoon depicts Fatah members as sneaky rats, brandishing guns and showered with dollars, while Hamas is portrayed as a confident, calm lion resembling Simba in the 1994 Walt Disney Co. movie, "The Lion King." The five-minute cartoon was posted on the Web site of the Middle East Media Research Institute, a Washington based group that monitors the Arabic media. The video, titled a "message to the criminal gangs in the occupied West Bank," is the second production of the Hamas-run Al Aqsa TV enlisting a famous Disney character.