MADA- the Palestinian Center for Development and Media freedoms monitored 32 violations against media freedoms, during January 2018, 28 committed by the Israeli occupation, and 3 committed by the Palestinian parties, while in the previous month 89 violations were monitored, 84 were committed by the Israeli occupation which targeted journalists during their coverage of the popular protests that broke out following the US president's decision to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.
These numbers shows a decrease in violations but nevertheless, the rate of Israeli attacks has remained at a high rate compared to previous months.
Israeli violations:
In January, Israeli forces and authorities committed a total of 28 violations, 90% of the total number of violations monitored this month, a rate similar to that of the past few months.
The most serious violations monitored this month, where the beating of Reuters photographer in Jerusalem by an Israeli police officer on the head, which caused him a severe injury and a concoction. The Israeli occupation forces are still preventing journalists from covering by detaining them away from the main event, and beating them up as happened in some places in Jerusalem and several cities around the West-bank.
Its worthy to mention that On 4/2/2018 the Israeli Supreme Court issued a decision asking the Israeli government to put an orderly decree for 3 months to cover all the events in Jerusalem not just in the old town but also in all around Jerusalem.
This decision came based on a petition filed by the Association for Civil Rights on July 2017 against the Israeli police about preventing and obstructing the work of journalists in the coverage of events in the occupied city of Jerusalem after the Israeli police has prevented journalists from entering the Old City of Jerusalem to cover the events that took place after installing the electronic gates on Al Aqsa mosque[1] entrances.
Palestinian violations:
Palestinian violations remained at its minimum, only 3 violations were reported in January (2 committed in Gaza and 1 in the West-Bank) that’s a rate very low and similar to the four months that preceded it, However two other incidents directly related to the journalistic work recorded during this month, that raise concerns regarding dealing with issues that are related to freedom of press and expression.
In the last month, the case of the correspondent of Aqsa channel Tarek Abu Zied, was transferred to the supreme criminal court[2] it’s, and that’s not a normal procedure for such cases, this raises serious concerns about how to deal with issues of publication and freedom of expression[3].
It is also surprising in this context that the Palestinian Public Prosecution filed an appeal against the decision to acquit journalist Jihad Barakat, issued by Judge Ramez Joubar in connection with the prosecution of Barakat in connection with the filming of the Prime Minister's convoy. The arrest of Barakat was not legal because he was arrested without a court order. In this decision, Judge Abu Rousm stressed the right of journalists and the media to follow up and cover the news of public figures, stressing that this does not fall within the context of privacy.
Details of January violations:
(8-1) Palestine TV Crew was detained while preparing a TV report, by IOF, Palestinian TV correspondent Hani Ahmad Funoun (34 years) reported to MADA: “Me and my colleague, cameraman Fares Jaznara, were preparing a TV report on the closure of the entrance to the "Shifa" living compound that is a part of Beit Shuqayra Village South of Bethlehem city, and about the citizens that are suffering due to the closure, I started the live broadcast at 12 o'clock, and while I was interviewing the coordinator of the wall and settlement resistance committee, Hassan Bureijia, we were surprised that the Israeli army force was coming towards us from all sides, and one of the soldiers stood in front of the camera and another soldier pulled the microphone from my hands and confiscated my mobile phone.”
"The soldiers then took the program guest to his car, searched him and confiscated his ID, two additional military jeeps arrived. The soldiers were violent; while I was with Hassan Bureijia the soldier took my second phone and forced me to take off my coat. And after about 20 minutes of inspection, they ordered us to leave and not to return to this place claiming that it is a closed military zone."
(9-1) Israeli soldiers detained Palestine crew while they were preparing a report on the settlers' attacks Deir al-Hatab village. The TV Correspondent Bakr Mohammed Al-Haq (28 years), Reported to MADA : "Me and my colleagues Samer Habash (Camera man) , the car driver Abdallah Kwamleh and Sameh Hussein, a member of Deir al-Hatab village council (east of Nablus) were detained, while we were filming a report on the settler attacks in the region this afternoon ."
He added “an armed settler attacked us as soon as the army entered the area, then the soldiers took the settler away and took our IDs and we were detained for about 1 hour and a half, after contacting the Palestinian liaison we were given our IDs back and let us go around 2:00 PM.
(9-1) Israeli police arrested the director of the "ILIAA" media organization Ahmed Hussein al-Safadi, (44 years), while covering a protest in Jerusalem. Safadi Reported: "I was arrested at 11 o'clock in front of the American House near the US Consulate while I was covering the protest against Trump's decision to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, I was taken to al-Maskoubiya police station, and there I was interrogated as organizer of the event at the Al-Dar Hotel, and of course I denied it. I was released around 3:00 pm on bail of NIS 5,000 until the court session”.
(10-1) The Israeli occupation forces detained five journalists and prevented them from reaching the village of Madama, south of Nablus, to cover the clashes between the settlers and the village citizens. Nidal shafiq Shtayeh (46years)chines news agency photographer reported to MADA "We went (a group of journalists Nidal Shtayeh, Jafar Ashtia, Mohammad Turkman, Mahmoud Fawzi and Muhammad Tarabi) at approximately 12:30 to cover clashes between the citizens of Madma village and the settlers. When we approached the village, a soldier stopped us at an Israeli checkpoint and confiscated our IDs and detained us, after 2 hours we got a phone call from the Palestinian liaison, telling us that the soldiers will give us our IDs after 10 min, but in one condition which is not going to Madama Village to cover the clashes, in 10 min they gave us our IDs back and told us to leave”.
(11-1) the Palestinian Preventive Security Service summoned the media student at Hebron University, the freelance journalist Musab Khamis Qafisha (23 years), Qafisha reported to MADA: "I received an official summon from the Preventive Security in Hebron, demanding that I go to their office the next day, after communicating with the Journalists Syndicate, I did not go.”
(12-1) The Israeli occupation forces attacked the crew of Al-Ghad Al-Arabi channel, where the reporter of the channel Diaa Ahmed Hoshiya (33 years) Reported to MADA "while covering me and my colleague the cameraman Munther Al-Khatib the clashes at the entrance of Nablus city at about 2:30 PM on 12-1. The force attacked the demonstraters, and a soldier attacked me and my colleague Munther, we were forced to move away from the location, because an officer threatened to arrest us if we didn’t, which affected our ability to cover the clashes. Other journalists and media outlets who were present at the location were also attacked and prevented from coverage because they didn’t have press cards, but I did not know any of them”.
(12-11) Al-Ghad Al-Arab Al-Arab TV correspondent Raed Mohammed Al-Sharif (28 years) was hit by a sound grenade fired by an Israeli soldier while covering the clashes in Hebron. Al Sharif reported to MADA: "During the clashes that accrued in Bab al-Zawiyeh in Hebron that started at 10:30 am one of the soldiers who was standing on the roof of a house fired a sound grenade towards me, where it exploded between my legs, causing me a minor burn and some scratches in my right thigh”.
I was transferred to Hebron public hospital “Alya” by an ambulance and there I got the needed treatment and made sure there was no fractures”.
(14-1)The traffic police in Gaza city summoned Alaa Abdel Aziz Salameh, 33, a radio announcer on Al-Quds radio, and questioned him about a comment he had posted on Facebook about the police. Salameh reported to MADA "Yesterday (13-1), I received a telephone call from the director of the Gaza Traffic Police asking me to come for an interview, regarding a publication I had posted on Facebook about the humanitarian situation of traffic police, the publication is a story recounted by a citizen about a traffic policeman who ordered falafel and bread from the citizen instead of releasing him a traffic violation. At 10 am the next day (14-1) I went to the General Directorate of Security. There I was interrogated about the publication and why I wrote it. I told him that the purpose of the publication was to highlight the humanitarian situation of all citizens, including police officers, who are living in difficult financial conditions. The aim was not to harm the prestige of the police. After I quoted an audio clip confirming what I wrote, the interrogation was terminated at about 1:30 pm, but I remained in detention until 5:00 pm, after the story of my detention spread over social media sites and after the intervention of some media professionals, and after signing a routine pledge not to address any kind of exposure to them”.
(14-1) One of the Israeli police attacked Reuter’s cameraman Sinan Abdullah Abu Mizar (45 years) in Jerusalem, and prevented 4 other journalists from covering the protests against the Trumps decision in Jerusalem, Bab Al-Asbat area. Where demonstrators were suppressed by firing sound bombs heavily, which led them to escape.
Abu Mizar reported to MADA “At around 10:00pm I was standing on the side, 10 Police officers approached me while I was filming on my camera and holding a microphone written Reuters on it which shows clearly that I’m a Journalist on duty, even though one of them hit me on my head with his baton and continued on his way. Abu Mizar added "I received treatment at the Hadassah hospital where it was found that after the necessary examination there was a concussion in the brain. The wound was sewn into my head with seven stitches and I stayed at home for a week.”
Correspondent Rema Mustafa and the cameraman Haytham Al Omari for Al-Arabya channel, Palestine TV Cameraman Amir Abid-Rabo, AL –Anadol cameraman Mustafa AL- Kharouf, the correspondent for Al-Kufyieh channel Nawal Hijazai, and also the cameraman for the same channel Ghassan Abu Eid. All were at the location and they all got attacked and where prevented from covering.
(15-1) Amer Awni Ba’lousha (25 years) The correspondent of the Egyptian Newspaper (AL –Badeel ), was summoned by Bait Lahia (north of Gaza Strip) Investigation office. Ba’lousha reported to MADA: “"On 15/1 I received a telephone call from the Beit Lahia interrogation office asking me to come for investigation , I went to their office immediately, as soon as I arrived they transferred me to the Director-General of Security and there I was asked questions about my work, activities, , and who support me. I was detained for about 7 hours."
(19-1)The occupation intelligence summoned the media student in Hebron University, and the freelance journalist Musa’ab Khamis kfesha (23 years), Kfesha Reported to MADA: “on 19/1 I received a phone call from the Israeli security service, and in the next day 20/1 around 12:00 PM I went to Etzion prison, and I was questioning for 3 hours, where the integrator asked me about my work, and whom I work for, he also informed at the end that I was banned from travelling”.
(20-1) Faiz Hamza Abu-Rmealeh (25 years), the photographer for Active Still Group and +972 magazine, got injured by a sound grenade while covering a demonstration in Jerusalem, and 6 other journalists were prevented from covering by the Israeli police. Abu Rmealah reported to MADA:” we were a group of journalists covering a demonstration that started in Salah Al din Street around 4:00 Pm, as soon as the demonstration started the Israeli police started firing sound grenade on the demonstrators trying to separate them, they were using different kind of sound grenade this time, it was very loud and it brings more damage. Around 5:00 PM I was hit with a sound grenade in my leg causing simple burns and cuts, as for my colleague Ahmad Safadi I saw the police pushing him away and threating to arrest him if he didn’t obey.
Mustafa Al-Kharouf, Ahmad al-Budairi, Suhaib Salhab, Layali Eid and Diyala Juhayhan were all present. They were all prevented by force from covering the demonstration.
(21-1) Palestine TV correspondent Mohammad Abd AL Qader Shatyieh (41 years), was detained by the Israeli police and Israeli security services for couple of hours and he was prevented from covering the vandalism on the land of Kufor AL Deek Village near a settlement located in the area, Shtayieh reported to MADA: “at around 10:30 AM on 21-1 while I was covering the vandalism in Kufor AL Deek village (north of west Bank), Israeli security forces and Israeli police officers came to the area and prevented me from filming. They closed the road in front of the car, confiscated my ID and held me until 1:00 pm, after the intervention of Palestinian liaison officer, who came to the location”.
(24-1) The Israeli Occupation police in Jerusalem detained the photographer of Al-Arz production company Ayman Hussein Abu Rmouz (27 years) and prevented him from covering events along with his colleague Jihad Almuhtaseb, Abu Rmouz reported to MADA “At around 16:00 pm my colleague the photographer Jihad Almuhtaseb and I were in an area near the Damascus gate in the old city of Jerusalem, filming a program, after we finished I started taking photos of searches operations by the Israeli police. Suddenly, a policeman demanded to search me, when I handed them my press card issued by the Israeli journalists syndicate, the police officer replied that he does not care who I am or if I am a journalist, he added that he will search me anyway, he throw my cellphone on the ground and started searching me in a humiliating way while saying we do not know if you are journalists or terrorists, after he started searching my colleague Jihad I started capturing photos of the search they subjected him to, then, the police officer turned to me and asked me why am I taking photos, I informed him that this is my right, he replied that it is not your right, he ordered other police personnel to transfer me to the police station”.
Rmouz added: “They took me to the police station on Salah Aldin Street, and on the way I was threatened that I would be detained for two days until I learn how to deal with the police and respect them, after we arrived, the policeman interrogated me about the incident. I told him that he could go back to the cameras in the street to make sure that I did not do anything wrong, and what happened was a racist action by the police, around 7:00 pm he gave me my ID, and told me to leave. "
