Palestinians’ violations against journalists in the occupied Palestinian territories were much more than the Israeli’s violations during the month of November. The Palestinian Center for Development and Media Freedoms (MADA) has monitored a lot of violations against freedom of expression; most of them were committed by the Palestinian security services in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
The violations varied between threat, summon and arrest; in Gaza the correspondent of Milad agency and Palestinian Network for press Nasir Abu Alfoul was threatened by unknown person who claimed that he is from the internal security forces, the journalist Asma’ Al-Goul also was threatened to be killed by unknown persons.
The internal security service of the dismissed government in the Gaza Strip detained three photographers and one cameraman: Reuters’s photographers Bassam Massoud, Ahmed Zakut, and Ibrahim Abu Mustafa, and Al Arabiya TV cameraman Mohammed Aljehjouh, while they were covering film show about Fatah leader Abu Jihad’s life, during the sixth anniversary of the death of President Yasser Arafat. They also summoned the columnist and Palestine Public TV correspondent Fouád Jaradeh in Al’nsar area in Gaza.
In the West Bank, the Palestinian intelligence forces in Biet Sahour city arrested the director of Radio Bethlehem 2000 George Kanawati and freelance journalist Sami Alasi in Nablus city. They also summoned Quds TV coordinator Nawaf Al-Amer, Quds TV correspondent Samer Khwereh, and the correspondent of Alhaqeqa Aldawliyeh newspaper Qais Abu Samra.
Israeli occupation forces also continued their violations against Palestinian journalists, where they attacked WAFA agency photographer Hussam Abu Alan, and Palestine Public TV correspondent Fida’ Nasir during their coverage of the events of Biet Omar weekly march in Hebron city. They also detained the director of Asra Radio and Isis radio Ibrahim Musleh on the container checkpoint. The Israeli police detained Pal Media cameraman Said Khair Aldeen in Jerusalem city. The Palestinian News Network “PNN” website was hacked by unknown people, leading to disabling of the website for four days.
MADA centre expressed its deep concern about the continuing violations against Palestinian journalists by the Israeli occupation forces and the Palestinian security services in Gaza Strip and West Bank, and demanded the immediate cessation of all these violations. MADA also demanded respect for freedom of expression in the occupied Palestinian territories, and the release of all detained journalists in the Israeli and Palestinian prisons.
