The Palestinian Center for Development & Media Freedoms (MADA) expresses concern over the escalation of Israeli violations against journalists in the occupied Palestinian territories, and the continued Israeli occupation forces targeting of Journalists who cover the marches against the Apartheid Wall, especially in the villages of Bilain and Nea’lin.
MADA expresses its concern over the return of arrests among journalists in the West Bank, where the independent journalist Mustafa Sabri, the writer Dr.Abd Al-Sattar Qaesem and Murad Abu Al-Bahaa’ were arrested. And the attempt to restrict the travel of some journalists in the Gaza Strip, as in the case of the journalist Sakhr Abu Aoun whose passport was held since March 21st preventing him from traveling to Bahrain to participate in a conference on media freedoms, and Khaled Bulbul, who was prevented from traveling to participate in a training course on professional safety in Cairo.
As MADA condemns all aggressions against journalists, which is considered a gross violation of freedom of expression, MADA demands:
- The international community to exert pressure on the Government of Israel to stop its violations against journalists.
- The dismissed government in Gaza strip to allow journalists to move and travel freely.
- Releasing all detainee journalists in the prisons of Israel and Palestinian National Authority.
Details of violations:
(April 3) - Reuters photographer, Saed Fathi Hewwari (32 years old), was injured by Israeli occupation forces. Hewwari said that he was covering the weekly march with a group of journalists in Bilain village, when the soldiers fired tear gas canisters at them. One of canisters hit him in his right leg resulting in a wound, and he received treatment in the Al-Sheikh Zayed Hospital in Ramallah. It was mentioned that the Israeli occupation forces began, since a short period, using a new type of tear gas where eight canisters are fired together by a cannon, and they are more dangerous than the usual bombs. This kind of canisters has killed the citizen Basem Abu Rahmeh, in the April 17th in Bilain village when hit him in the chest.
(April 4) –Maan News Agency and Farah TV cameraman, Yousef Mahmoud Ja’ss, from Jenin Refugee Camp was arrested by the Israeli occupation forces. An official of Farah TV said that Ja’ss was going to Ramallah city, when Israeli occupation forces arrested him at Za’tarah checkpoint, between the cities of Nablus and Ramallah, and transferred him the same day to Hewwarah Detention Center near Nablus.
(April 10) - Ramattan Agency cameraman, Ata Mustafa Awad was injured by two gas canisters fired by the Israeli occupation forces. Awad said that he was covering the weekly march against the Apartheid Wall in the village of Nea’lin (Ramallah), when occupation soldiers deliberately fired gas canisters, one of them hit his back and the other hit his right shoulder resulting in the loss of consciousness and falling to the ground. He was treated at a field hospital in the area. Sound technician, Zakaria Al-salhi, was also injured by dense gas inhalation which required transferring him to Ramallah hospital for treatment.
(April 10) - The Associated Press Photographer, Mohammad Mheisen was injured by two gas canisters fired by Israeli occupation forces. Mhaisen said that the soldiers fired tear gas at the demonstrators and journalists during the weekly march in Bilain village, where two of gas canisters hit him, one in the left shoulder and the other in the face directly. He said “if I have not wearing the anti-gas mask it would have burnt my face; the mask and the camera, which was slightly burnt, have protected me."
(April 12) - Quds Net photographer and correspondent, Diala Jwaihan, was detained by Israeli occupation forces for seven hours. Jwaihan said that she was filming Jewish extremists inside Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem at about 13:15pm, when she was stopped by Israeli police who confiscated her camera, her bag and mobile phone, then they took her to the police station at King David Gate in the Old City, and an hour later she was transferred to the an investigation center in the Old City as well, where she was investigated on her press job and that she breached the public order. They told her that it not permitted to film inside Al-Aqsa Mosque and Um Kamel’s Tent for fifteen days, and she was released at 8:00 pm after returning her confiscated properties.
(April 19) - Khaled Jamal Bulbul (32 years old) was prevented from travel to Egypt to participate in the professional safety training course in Cairo, organized by the International Federation of Journalists. Bulbul said that he went to the Rafah crossing on April 19th to travel to Cairo, but the officials in charge of internal security at the crossing told him that he is not permitted to travel, and told him" you have to go to the internal security in Gaza to solve your problems with them". In fact, he went the next day to their headquarters (Al-Mashtal), but they told him that he has no problems, “you may have problems with other apparatuses". The same day he went to the crossing and told the Chairman of the internal security of what they said in (Al-Mashtal), however he told him that his travel is still prohibited.
(April 20) - Ekhbareyyat News network photographer’s car, A’yed Mohareb, was shattered by the settlers in the town of Hewwarah, south of Nablus. Mohareb said that a group of settlers shattered his car windshield and back glass at about 11:00pm. He came out of his house, located on the main street of the town, after hearing a noise outside the house, and when the settlers saw him, they fled by their Subaru yellow number-plate car.
(April 20) - Journalist Murad Abu Al-Baha’, Information Coordinator at the Office of the Islamic Parliamentary Bloc in Ramallah was arrested by the Palestinian preventive security service. A statement by the Office said that Baha’ was arrested from his home in the town of Beitunia, near Ramallah, by the mentioned service, and that he was tortured during interrogation.
(April 21) – Freelance journalist Mustafa Sabri, was arrested by the Palestinian Preventive Security service in the city of Qalqilya. His wife said that a group of the above mentioned force came to their house afternoon, and asked for Mustafa who was in a nearby field outside the house. They have taken his elder son to lead them to the place, but they did not find him there, so she called him asking to come back home where they arrested him. Then they came back at about 09:00pm and inspected the house thoroughly for two hours, confiscated his computer and left the house.
