Ramallah -8/3/2018 MADA-Palestinian Center for Development and Media Freedoms monitored 29 violations against media freedoms in Palestine during February 2018, with a slight decline of only two violations (31 violations during January).
Israeli occupation committed 27 violations, 2 violations were committed by Palestinian parties in Gaza and in the West-Bank. In addition to Facebook's blocking and closing dozens of Palestinian pages, in response to Israeli claims and pressure saying that these pages has proactive content.
Israeli violations:
The Israeli occupation forces committed 27 violations against media freedoms during last February, which is 93% from the overall violations that was recorded almost the same percent as in previous months.
In addition to the fact that most of the attacks monitored this month are committed by the Israeli occupation, most of them are among the dangerous types of violations on media freedoms, and on the ability of journalists to carry out their work.
The most prominent of these are four arrests of journalists, 8 cases of physical attacks on journalists during their work, not less than 12 journalists were detained and prevented from covering in various incidents during their field coverage. At least 18 journalists were expelled, attacked and some were arrested during a social gathering dinner that was organized in Jerusalem in order to prevent such an event.
Palestinian violations:
The number of Palestinian violations remained at a very low level. Only two Palestinian violations on media freedoms were monitored in February, one in the West Bank and the other in Gaza Strip, which is a similar rate in its limitations over the past 5 months.
During February one violation was monitored in the West-Bank which was preventing the correspondent of Roaya TV from entering Al-Mukataa in Ramallah to cover an event, “due to an abuse of the Palestinian presidency through his publications on facebook “.Tayif Channel which is a channel that specializes in women issues and broadcast online, was prevented from organizing an event to celebrate their launching in Gaza.
Details of violations:
(2-2) Samah Mahmoud Al-Kahla (28 years) the correspondent for Al-Alam News channel fainted during her covering a demonstration in Al-Berih city. Al-Kahla reported to MADA “while I was covering the clashes at the northern entrance of Al-Berih city, I fainted due to inhaling gas by the gas bombs that was fired by the Israeli soldiers; I got field treatment by the medics that existed in the location”.
(5-2) The Israeli occupation forces arrested the Ahmad Majdi AL-Arabed (28 years) the sound engineer in Sawt Al-Hurryia radio, his brother Amjad reported to MADA “the Israeli occupation forces stormed our house that is located in Al-Terih in Ramallah city around 3:00 AM, and beat all my family members (my brother Yasser, mother, father and sisters), then they searched all the house, vandalized it, and arrested my brother Ahmad”.
(8-2) Palestinian Security prevented Mohammad Radi Shushah (35 years) the correspondent of the Jordanian TV Roaya, to cover an event in Al-Mukaata (the president headquarter), because as they say he abused the Palestinian presidency in his publication on his Facebook page, Shushah reported to MADA “on (2-8) I went to AL-Mukaata in Ramallah to cover the event of releasing the program of “ Jerusalem is the capital of Islamic youth”, when I arrived I was denied entry to AL-Mukaata because as they say, that I abused the Palestinian presidency in my publications on my facebook page. I asked about the exact they told me the reason is my posting pictures of Israeli journalists in Ramallah, and asking not to welcome them”.
(9-2) The Israeli Occupation forces detained not less than 5 journalists while they were covering a demonstration against settlements in Al-Mazraa AL-Gharbieh village near Ramallah, and prevent them from coverage under the reason that this area is a military closed area. Hisham Kamel Abu Shaqra (29 years) the Photographer for Al-Anadolu Agency reported to MADA, “around 1:30 PM while we were in Al-Mazraa AL-Gharbieh village covering a demonstration against the settlements, the Israeli soldiers detained all the journalists and took there IDs for almost 20 minutes, because this area as they said it’s a military closed area, and they also tried to arrest the freelance photographer Mohammad Shretih because his journalist ID wasn’t with him, but we all refused to leave without him”. He also added: from the journalists that were detained, Mohammad Shusha Roaya TVcameraman, Jihad Barakat the correspondent for Media Port, and Issam Rimawi the photographer of Al-Hayat al-Jadida.
(9-2) The cameraman Monther Mohammad Khateeb (32 years), and Mohammad Najib Nabil Al-Razim (40 years) Al-Sharqa channel cameraman, got injured by rubber bullets fired by Israeli soldiers, while covering a demonstration at Huwara junction south of Nablus. Khateeb reported to MADA,” while covering a demonstration at Huwara junction, all the journalists where on the left side and the soldiers are in front of us, the Israeli soldiers started firing gas and sound bombs and firing rubber bullets, I got hit with a rubber built in my right leg, and got field treatment at the location by the medics.
Al-Razim reported to MADA; “while I was covering a demonstration at Huwara junction on 2-9, to Al-Sharqa channel, I got shot with a rubber built in my right arm. It was a Mainor injury and I got the needed treatment at the location”.
(9-2) Samah Mahmoud Al-Kahlah (28 years) the correspondent of Al-Alam channel, got hit with a sound grenade that was fired by an Israeli soldier directly towards her, while she was covering a demonstration at Al-Berih northern entrance. Al-Kahlah reported to MADA,” while me and my colleges, Hamzah Al-Sudani Cameraman and Mohammad Tamemi the Broadcast supervisor, were covering the demonstration at Al-Berih northern entrance, around 4:00 PM, while I was standing next to the broadcast car and wearing my Press Shield vest, the Israeli soldiers came to us and asked us not to film them, we responded that we are covering the demonstration and we moved our cameras to different direction, during that a soldier was only 2 meters away from me, fired a sound grenade towards me, the grenade hits me in my shield and exploded on the ground, I didn’t got injured because of the vest shield that I had on”.
(15-2) The Israeli occupation forces arrested Abid Al-Muhsain Tayeser Shlaldeh (25 years) the correspondent for Al-Quds net network, Shlaldehs brother loay reported to MADA, “the Israeli soldiers stormed our house around 2:30 AM that is located in Shuokh Shafa, northeast of Hebron; they thoroughly searched the house, and confiscated 3 mobile phones. After about 40 minutes, they left the house after they arrested my brother 'Abd al-Muhsin and took him to an unknown place”.
(15-2) Israeli occupation forces attacked a group of journalists while covering a demonstration and an event of planting olive groves in the town of Bita South of Nablus. In another incident, Israeli soldiers assaulted a group of journalists in the West Bank in the village of Mazra'a Al-Gharbeia. Diaa Ahmad Hushieh (33 years) the correspondent of Al Ghad Al Arabi TV reported to MADA, " my colleague and I the Cameraman of channel Munther al-Khatib and the Sky News Cameraman Abid Khabisa where filming the activity of planting olive groves in Jabal Sabih in the town of Beita after the settlers erected a new settlement there, accrued at the location. After asking one of the soldiers if is it ok to cover the clashes between the citizens and the occupation soldiers , he allowed us, after a few minutes, another soldier attacked us and started beating us, which led to destroying our camera ".
"About half an hour after this attack, we went on live broadcast again, and we were attacked again by firing gas and sound bombs towards us, which resulted in major gas suffocation." He added, "The next day (Friday - 12 - 2018) and while covering a demonstration in the village of Mazra' Al Gharbeh in Ramallah, the soldiers began to throw sound and gas bombs at us, to keep us away from the area, and prevented us from coverage, one of the bombs hit the camera without damaging it” .
In t the location were Radio Bait-Lahim 2000 photographer Ramiz Awad, Jihad Barakat the correspondent of media port, Issam Rimawi the photographer for Al-Hayyat Al-Jadidah, and al Quds Photographer, and Iyad Assi the cameraman for Al-Ghad Al-Arabi, we left the location around 2:00 PM after almost 1 hour of arriving.
(16-2) The director of al-Najah satellite television station in Hebron, Ali Hani al-Jua’ba (27 years), and his colleague, the cameraman Tareq Khamaisa, got suffocated by a gas grenade that was fired towards them during their coverage of events in Hebron. Al-Jua’ba reported to MADA, "I went out to cover the events near the office in Bab Zawiya, with my college Tariq Khamaisa, the cameraman. Meanwhile, one of the soldiers targeted us with a gas grenade directly at us, which fell next to the camera. That led me and my colleague Khamisa to suffocate as one of the shop owners helped us by spraying perfume on our faces.
"While my colleague Tariq was covering in the Bab al-Zahid area (old municipal square), he was targeted with a sound bomb that exploded near him, and when he tried to escape, he fell into a pit, causing minor injuries to his leg."
(18-2) The Government Information Office in Gaza banned a ceremony to launch a women's channel on the Internet, claiming that it did not obtain the necessary permits, and demanded that it be change its name. The director of "Tayif for Palestinian Women" Mona Talal Okal (33 years), reported to MADA “We have received the necessary approval from the Ministry of the Interior to organize this celebration, and after the completion of all the arrangements and the distribution of invitations (including an invitation to the government information office who confirmed their attendance), On the celebration day around 2 pm, I received a call from the government information office informing us that there is a set of actions that we must take into consideration, And asked us to go to the office , we asked them to postpone the date for the next day after the end of the ceremony, but they refused to do so, and they told us that they need to complete the procedures without clarifying the details of these procedures.
She said "After that, the Information Office issued a statement explaining the decision to cancel the event. The reason is that the channel did not receive the necessary licenses as they say. We obtained all the necessary licenses for the main companies Haifa and Koler Barz for media production from the Ministry of Information and the Information Office. As well as that there is no need in the law for licenses to launch channels through the social media. "
"After asking the government information office, they asked for some of my papers as the director of the channel, and they were handed to them, and the next day we received another call from them that the name of the channel should be changed, because there is another radio licensed by the name / tayif Al Assra/. We are still stuck with the government information office so far because of their demand that we change the name of the channel completely, and because we are accused of calling for "ideologies different from the ideologies of society." we are meeting tomorrow with the government information office to reach a settlement on the subject”. She added
She also reported to MADA, "On 27/2 a delegation representing the Teif channel went to the government information office in an attempt to reach an agreement that satisfies all parties. It was agreed to change the name of the channel from" Taif to “Tayif Al Maraa”. And in the next day they asked us to provide them with the program and information about the channel's staff, including the volunteers. These things are usually not requested from the channels, but there seems to be a desire to keep us under their sight."
(20-2) Israeli occupation forces detained Wafa agency correspondent in Tubas and the northern Jordan Valley, Al-Harith Yousef Al-Hesni (27 years), and the Palestine TV Crew during the preparation to make a report on Bisan commercial checkpoint. Al Hesni reported to MADA, "I went to Bisan commercial checkpoint that is open only one day a week. This forced the traders to use the Jalameh checkpoint, which is very far away. After I finished an interview for the report, I had prepared, and the Palestine Television crew finished filming the program / correspondents from the field/, an army vehicle arrived and searched our vehicles and our personal IDs and asked us if we have any weapons, and then they took us to Bisan checkpoint in the northern Jordan Valley and held us there for an hour. "
Palestine TV Correspondent Amir Hilmy Shahin (27 years) in Tubas and the northern Jordan Valley reported to MADA, “me and my collogue Loay Abid Al- Hafeth Samhan (38 years) the cameraman were filming a program at Bisan checkpoint, after we finished Israeli soldiers came to us and asked for our IDs, searched our car, confiscated our filming gear, and deleted the pictures on our phones, but we succeeded in hiding the memory card so they didn’t delete our content that we filmed, they detained us for almost an hour, and then they let us go, and gave us back our gear, after the Palestinian liaison office interfered”.
(21-2) Israeli soldiers assaulted a number of journalists while they were covering a protest in front of Ofer Prison near Ramallah. They arrested the freelance journalist Mohammed Alwan. The cameramen of Al-Quds channel Husni Hassan Abdul Jalil (32 years), reported to MADA,” At 11 pm, while we were covering a sit-in in solidarity with a PRC activist from Bethlehem, in front of Ofer Prison, while he had his trial session in Ofer. One of the soldiers attacked me and tried to pull me into the military jeep, my collogue Mohammed Sami Alwan, (33 years) a freelance journalist tried explaining to the soldiers that we are journalists and just doing our jobs, but they arrested him and held him in Ofer Prison with his hands tied and his head covered, (although I was wearing a protective jacket and a helmet and carried the camera with my hand showing clearly that I’m a journalist).
Mohammad Olwan reported to MADA, “I was arrested while I was covering a peaceful sit-in in solidarity with the activist Munther Amira near Ofer Prison, the soldiers took me to Atarot settlement, where I was interrogated about the reason for my arrest and my accusation that I punched a soldier, knowing that the soldier who arrested me punched me during the arrest, and I was also accused that I was preventing the soldiers from doing their work by throwing stones at them, and blocking there way, they watched the video of the incident which clearly show that I’m innocent, but the testimony of three officers and the filing a complaint against me made the officer transfer me to Ofer Prison around 7:30. There I was detained with the security detainees. and I was searched naked. The next day I was released around 12:00 PM”.
(21-2) An Israeli police force and Israeli secret intelligent stormed a restaurant in Jerusalem, where 18 journalists where having dinner organized by business men on the honor of journalists, they attacked them and expelled them from the restaurant, and arrested the owner and one of the journalists, claiming that the meeting was organized by the Democratic Front. Ahmad Othman Jalajil the correspondent of Al-Quds newspaper and Panet website reported to MADA, “I received an invitation to attend a dinner organized by businessmen in honor of Journalists and the presence of important figures from Jerusalem, in Philadelphia Hotel in Zahra Street, after 30 minutes of arriving around 5:30 PM we were surprised with a big force of Israeli police and secret intelligent storming the hotel, expelling us by force and they hung a paper on the door preventing the dinner of happening, claiming that this dinner is organized by the Democratic Front”.
Jalajil added “ the owner of the restaurant and the journalist Ahmad Safadi the manager of Eeliaa Media were arrested, while I was pushed strongly away, because I was trying to explain to them that we are here as journalist invited to dinner and this event has nothing to do with any political activity”.
The journalist Dalia Jwihan reported to MADA, “we were 18 journalists invited to dinner after arriving to the restaurant an Israeli police and secret inelegant force stormed the restaurant expelling us from the location and throwing bad words at us, Israeli force stayed in the street of the hotel an hour and a half after expelling us from the location”.
