Hamas is planning to enforce a 12-year-old Palestinian press law designed to silence dissident journalists amid a crackdown that has raised fierce protests from the local media.
"We are all bound by this 1995 press law, and its articles carry the force of the law," said a statement from what was described as Hamas's "information ministry" in the Gaza Strip, according to Agence France-Presse (AFP).
Since Hamas (the Islamic Resistance Movement) seized control of Gaza in a bloody takeover in June, journalists have complained about a crackdown on the press, particularly on media groups linked to the rival Fatah movement. A Hamas-led Palestinian unity government was sacked in the wake of the Gaza takeover by president Mahmud Abbas of the rival Fatah movement, but Hamas insists it remains the only legitimate government.
The 1995 law, which was brought in under the late Yasser Arafat but never enforced, bans publication of information likely to "endanger national unity, incite crimes or hatred, division and religious dissent." It also prohibits publication of "secret information" about the police, security forces, their weapons, movements and training camps.
Those convicted risk six months in prison and the three-month suspension of the offending publication or media organisation, the AFP report said. "We cannot change this law, it is the only one we have. We will implement its articles but we respect the freedom of the press," said a Hamas spokesman, Tahar Al Nunu. Nunu is the head of a new committee set up by Hamas as a "reference point for journalists which is aimed at simplifying the gathering of information about the government," the statement said.
The Hamas statement also said the committee had the right to conduct raids against media outfits and bureaux and "to summon their members over issues relating to their work." "We will not deal with organisations which do not have authorisation or do not respect the rules," it added.
Nunu said this measure was aimed at new Internet sites, and not at media organisations already registered. The latest move was denounced by Abbas's government, which has its power base in the occupied West Bank.
Meanwhile, journalists staged a sit-in in Gaza Sunday protesting pressure on the media by Hamas. More than 100 reporters gathered in front of the journalists union building in central Gaza City, two days after Hamas forces briefly detained four journalists and violently broke up a rally of the rival Fatah party. “Yes to freedom of the press!”, “No to journalists arrests!”, ”Keep journalists out of politics!” read the banners carried by the demonstrators.
The Jerusalem-based Foreign Press Association (FPA) urged the “relevant authorities in Gaza to allow the proper functioning of the free press. There can be no excuse for any attempt to limit this freedom.”
On Friday three cameramen and an AFP photographer were briefly detained by Hamas after covering a demonstration by Hamas’s rival Fatah of president Mahmud Abbas. Hamas forces fired in the air as they dispersed the rally and sought to detain two other cameramen, but were prevented from doing so by other journalists.
Hours after the rally was broken up, a large group of journalists thwarted an attempt by Hamas militiamen to arrest Sakher Abu al-Oun, a reporter working with AFP. "They surrounded my home and scared my children," Abu al-Oun told the Jerusalem Post. "This is an attempt to intimidate journalists and prevent them from carrying out their job. I call on all my colleagues to be united for the sake of freedom of expression."
International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) President Jim Boumelha said, "IFJ gives its full support to the journalists of Gaza in their fight against harassment of journalists and media by Hamas armed groups. We demand that the authorities in Gaza ensure that journalists can do their job in full security. They must bring an end this targeting of journalists and allow Palestinian media to function without any interference.”
“During the legitimate pursuit of their coverage several colleagues were physically intimidated by members of Hamas’s security forces... This kind of dangerous infringement of professional journalists pursuing their duties is unacceptable,” FPA said.
On Saturday, dozens of Palestinian journalists rallied in the West Bank city of Ramallah against the Hamas “aggression” against their Gaza colleagues. “It is a spontaneous initiative by journalists to make our voices heard and ensure that such aggression does not get worse,” a journalist with the Al-Ayam daily, Khalil Shahin, told AFP.
