The Israeli occupation forces escalated the attacks on Palestinian journalists for consecutive second month, which during February 2010 they attacked journalists: Chinese news agency photographer Nidal Ishteh, Baladna local Radio presenter in Hebron Raed Al-atrash, Quds net news website correspondent and photographer Diala Jwehan, CNN cameraman Kareem Khadir, Palestine TV correspondent Haron Amayreh and its cameraman Fadi Jayyousi, Middle East Center for Media photographer Ghassan Bannoura, and Pal Media cameraman Abdul Ghani Natshe.

 the Israeli forces Also arrested AP photographer Nasser Al-Shuokhi and attacked him in two separate incidents in Hebron, and arrested free lance journalist Ahmed Fathi Al-Khaseb on his return from Jordan, the director of photography at the Franc Press Agency Marco Longri, and detained a bus carrying fifty journalists on the Container checkpoint in the West Bank, After voting in the Journalist Syndicate elections.

On the other hand the detained journalist Mustafa Sabri home was fired at by unknown, and  Al-Jazeera English photographer Samir Abu Gharbiya was injured by Palestinian youth stone.

The Palestinian Center for Development and Media Freedoms (MADA) gravely concerned for the Prosecution of former Aqsa TV correspondent Tareq Abu Zeid in military court and sentenced him for a year and a half, where the trial of journalists for their work is a flagrant violation in the freedom of opinion and expression.

MADA also expresses concern over the Interior Ministry in the dismissed government threat to sue Al-Arabiya TV on the ground of published a news reports about the situation in the Gaza Strip, because this is a freedoms and expression violation, the same  ministry also issued a press release against Al-Arabiya in last August.

MADA strongly condemns all violations of the Palestinian journalist’s rights, and demands the international community to exercise real and effective pressure on Israel to stop all violations against journalists who are suffering from the continued attacks and arrests. MADA demands the release of all detained journalists in Israeli and Palestinian prisons.

Details of violations:

(6 Feb) the Chinese news agency photographer Nidal Ishteh was attacked by Israeli Occupation Forces in Oraq Burin village near Nablus city. Ishteh said that he went on Saturday noon, 6 February 2010 to cover the confrontation between Israeli settlers and people from Oraq Burin village, after number of settlers’ vandalized water well used by the village farmers to irrigate their crops. the Israeli army was in the area, and when he was covering the confrontation, one soldier approached him and ordered him to stop covering, but Ishteh insist to do so, the soldier shot him with rubber bullets, wounding him in his left foot, so he couldn’t continue his work, and he was treated by the medical team who was in the place.

(6 Feb) A bus, which was carrying fifty journalists, was detained by the Israeli occupation forces, on the Container checkpoint Saturday evening 6 February 2010, while they were returning from Ramallah to Hebron, after they voted in the Journalists syndicate election, they also attacked Baladna local Radio producer and presenter in Hebron Raed Al-atrash. Al-atrash said that the Israeli soldiers ordered them to disembark the bus and confiscated their identity cards, and started to speak obscene words, so he told the solider to stop speaking these words; particularly because there were ten female journalists with them. So they argued, after that the soldier pushed, cuffed, and took him to a closed room, and returned the identity cards to the rest of journalists, and ordered them to leave, but they refused to go unless he is released. Al-atrash added: “They detained me about one hour and a half, where they provoked me by gestures and words, and then the officer came and made me sign a paper which stated that I was not tortured, and that they did not inspect my personal belongings, then they released me.

(8 Feb) Quds net news website correspondent and photographer Diala Jwehan, and CNN cameraman Kareem Khadir were attacked by Israeli occupation forces Monday afternoon on 8 February 2010, while they were covering the army’s raid on Shua’fat refugee camp in Jerusalem. On the other hand Al-Jazeera English photographer Samir Abu Gharbiya was injured by Palestinian youth stone. According to Jwehan she was covering the confrontations in the camp from a far place, but the Israeli occupation forces fired directly a sound grenade on her, which it exploded on her back. So she lost her consciousness immediately, then she was taken to Almakased hospital in Jerusalem. Jwehan added that she suffered from severe pain in her back, burning in her thigh and a large swelling in her right hand.
Kareem Khadir said that he was covering with other journalists in the camp, where the Israeli army wanted to prevent them from covering, so they fired sound bomb on them and he was wounded by its shrapnel on his ankle and his left hand, where he suffered from acute pain. Khadir added that after ten minutes, the soldiers have fired rubber bullets on them and one of the bullets rebounded from the wall to his hand, causing a large swelling in it.
Samir Abu Gharbiya said: “when I was in the field to cover the confrontation in the camp, I was injured slightly in my head from a stone thrown by a Palestinian youth."

(11 Feb) The free lance journalist Mustafa Sabri’s home was fired at by unknown people
on Thursday midnight 11 February 2010, in Qalqilia city in the West Bank. Sabri’s wife Leila Doud said that she heard a gunfire sound outside her house at midnight, where she was with her children, so she called the Palestinian security forces, and they found that 2 bullets
penetrated the house fence. It’s worthy to mention that the Preventive Security Service arrested Sabri on 4 January 2009.

(11 Feb.) The free lance journalist Ahmed Fathi Al-Khaseb was arrested upon his return from Jordan through the Karama (Allenby) crossing on Thursday 11 February 2010 by the Israeli occupation forces. His brother Musa’b Al-Khaseb said that Ahmad was scheduled to return to Palestine on Thursday but they received a call from Jalma investigation center, where they told them that his brother was arrested.

(12 Feb) Palestinian Public TV correspondent Haron Amayreh and its cameraman Fadi Jayyousi were attacked by the Israeli occupation forces during their coverage of Bil’in weekly march near Ramallah. Amayreh reported that he went with his colleague Jayyousi twelve o’clock noon on Friday 12 February 2010 to cover Bil’in antiapartheid weekly march, and while they were preparing the filming equipment the Israeli army threw tear gas grenade directly on them, so Amayreh was wounded in his right leg and burned in his feet and difficulty in breathing, while his colleague Jayyousi suffered from a very severe difficulty in breathing and was taken to the ambulance to take the necessary treatment.

(16 Feb) Aqsa TV former correspondent Tarek Abu Zeid was sentenced for a year and a half by the military court in Nablus city (West Bank). His father Abdul Razik Abu Zeid said that he was supposed to visit his son in jail on Saturday (13 February), but they prevented him. He also added:“My son has been arrested on 8 November 2009 because he was working with Aqsa TV, then the Supreme Court of Justice issued a decision to release him on 12 January 2010, but no one has responded to the court’s decision, although we have sent the court’s decision in an official letter to the General Attorney and the Prime Minister".
Abu Zeid lawyer Bassam Karajeh said that the military court decision was illegal for two reasons: first, because Abu Zeid is a civilian, and according to the Palestinian law it isn’t permissible for the military court to trail any civilian person whatever his indictment is, the second one the Supreme Court of Justice had issued a decision to release him, so his arrest was unlawful. Karajeh added: there have not been any indictment against Abu Zeid and the talk about his involvement in money and information transfer is not true, and if it was true, that is the civil
court competence.

(19 Feb) Middle East Center for Media photographer Ghassan Bannoura was attacked by the Israeli occupying forces during the coverage of Bil’in weekly march near Ramallah. Bannoura said that he went to cover the weekly march on Friday afternoon19 February 2010, and when he arrived there an Israeli vehicle started spraying a wastewater mixed with gas on the journalists, so they stuck between the car and the fence adjacent to the wall. Meanwhile, a group of Israeli occupation army came and ordered them to leave, so the journalists told them stop spraying the wastewater so we can go out, so they agreed. Bannoura added:  “when we started to move, the army fired at us rubber bullets for no reason, and one of the bullets hit my head, and my legs were also hit by gas bombs shrapnel, so I lost consciousness and was transferred directly to the ambulance for treatment" .

(23 Feb) AP photographer Nasser Al-Shuokhi was arrested by the Israeli Occupation
forces in the Ibrahimi mosque area in Hebron city south of West Bank. Al-Shuokhi said that he went Tuesday  morning on 23 February2010 to portray in the Ibrahimi Mosque, where one soldier approached him and confiscated his identity card, and told him: “you are a terrorist" then he took him to an interrogation center in the Kiryat Arba’ settlement. Al-Shuokhi added: “when I reached there, it was cleared to me that one of the settlers sued me for assault before two months. But I’ve denied the accusation and told them that I’m a journalist and I didn’t attack anyone, and this settler sued me because I was covering the confrontations between Palestinian youth and settlers in Hebron . Then I was released on1000 shekels bail, to come to the Court on 28 September 2010 “.

(25 Feb) AP agency photographer Nasser Al-Shuokhi, Pal Media cameraman Adul Ghani Natshe were attacked and the France Press Agency photography director Marco Longri was arrested, by the Israeli occupation forces, while they were covering a peaceful march near Karantena checkpoint in Hebron city in the West Bank. Al-Shuokhi said that he went with his colleagues to cover solidarity rally near the Israeli barrier “Karantena" on Thursday 25 February 2010, and while he was filming, the Israeli soldiers attacked and pushed him without any reason, and one of them beat him on his chest so he fainted immediately, then he  was transferred to the ambulance. Al-Shuokhi added that Longri was arrested when he was filming in the area, his director; Philip Agert said that he was released after six hours. According to Natshe he said that he lost consciousness when a soldier threw at him bomb gas canister deliberately.

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