JERUSALEM — The big black mouse ears, bulging eyes and rosy perma-grin look so familiar one might be amused by "Farfour" as a local Mickey Mouse knockoff. However, the comparison ends there.

What the star character of a children's show on the Hamas-affiliated television network has been saying in his high-pitched voice has attracted so much controversy -- even contempt -- that Hamas finally yanked the show.

Each Friday on Al-Aqsa TV, Farfour (which means "butterfly") has preached a political message to his audience on a show called, "Tomorrow's Pioneers."

"You and I are laying the foundation for a world led by Islamists," he reportedly squeaked recently.

Children call into the show to sing with Farfour and his young female co-host -- often singing Hamas-composed anthems about "the resistance."

'We will return the Islamic community to its former greatness and liberate Jerusalem, God willing... liberate Iraq, God willing... and liberate all the countries of the Muslims invaded by the murderers,' said Farfour, according to translation by The Associated Press and Reuters news agencies.

Not exactly the sort of stuff typically associated with history's most noted rodent. It explains why Diane Disney Miller, a daughter of Mickey's maker Walt Disney, described it as "pure evil."

The militant mouse has played into the long-held belief in Israel that Palestinian airwaves are rife with incitement and propaganda. So begins "Farfourgate." An Israeli watchdog organization that routinely monitors Palestinian media posted part of an episode to "YouTube." It has had at least 100,000 hits.

The lobby group's complaints (and press attention that followed) prompted the Palestinian Information Minister Mustafa Barghouti to take a closer look at the show and he did not approve of what he saw.

The ministry "urged" Al-Aqsa TV to pull the program so it could be "placed under review." The network complied. Barghouti in a statement said it's important to ensure Palestinian freedom of speech but "those who break the law will be penalized."

The show's producers did enough to appease the critics because Barghouti eventually signed off on "changes" made to the program and it will go to air in its usual timeslot.

The Hamas-produced program is a stark contrast to the Middle East version of "Sesame Street" that aims to foster cross-cultural understanding. The Israeli version, "Rechov Sumsum," will feature the first-ever Arab puppet. Palestinian Broadcasting (affiliated with the Fatah movement) says "Shara'a Simsim" promises positive role models for young boys.

"Farfourgate" is causing a rumble in Palestinian media and prompting discussions among teachers who are clearly disturbed.

Maha Sader, an early childhood educator in the West Bank city of Ramallah, sighed and told me that "education should create an open mind." She criticized Hamas for packaging heavy political rhetoric in a mascot for such an impressionable audience.

"Kids mimic to forge their identity," she said, "Children should decide for themselves who they are. This (type of program) does the opposite."

A manager with Al-Aqsa TV in Gaza City told CTV the network is "upset" by all the fuss. He accused the press of treating the children's show "like it was a nuclear bomb." He would not reveal how the pressure would impact the program or what Farfour will talk about.

"Tomorrow's Pioneers" is broadcast every Friday at 4 p.m. local time on Al-Aqsa TV. Not just the kids will be watching.

Janis Mackey Frayer  is CTV's Middle East correspondent, covering all parts of the region.