Last September witnessed renewed violations of media freedoms in the occupied Palestinian territories, where Israeli occupation forces continued to target journalists who cover demonstrations against the construction of the separation wall and settlement expansion. Three journalists were wounded by shooting tear gas canisters and bullets. Those are the Reuters photographer Abd Al- Rahim Qousini, cameraman Hamouda A’mireh and the Israeli photographer David Reid.
In the Gaza Strip, security forces detained Maan Agency correspondent, Ibrahim Qanan, and its cameraman Mohammad Ghabayen, and prevented the editor in chief of Seyasat Magazine, Dr. Atef Abu Saif, from travel. In the West Bank, security forces arrested the former Al-Aqsa TV cameraman Osaid Amarneh.
The Palestinian Center for Development and Media Freedoms (MADA) welcomes the release of journalists Iyad Srour on 9 Sep. and Osaid Amarneh on 16 Sep. from the Palestinian Authority’s prisons and the release of Mohammad Al-Qiq on 6 Sep. from the Israeli prisons. MADA demands the cessation of violations against journalists, the release of the prisoners of them, and respect the right to freedom of opinion and expression guaranteed in the Palestinian basic law and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
Details of violations
(1 Sep.) - Ma’an News Agency correspondent in the Gaza Strip, Ibrahim Mohammad Qanan (36 years), its cameraman Mohammad Ghabayen and their car driver, were detained by the Palestinian internal security force in the city of Khan Younis in the northern Gaza Strip. Qanan said that they were preparing a report in that morning on the suffering of people whose houses have been demolished in Khan Younis Refugee Camp. During conducting an interview with one of the citizens in his house, a group of internal security raided the house and asked them to stop filming, confiscated the camera and their mobile phones, and then asked them to accompany them to their headquarters. One of their vehicles was moving before our car and another vehicle following it. They interrogated us about the party for which we work and if we whether we prepare the report for the benefit of “Palestine Public TV". They said that they work with Maan Agency and they have nothing to do with Palestine TV. Three hours later, they were released and returned them the camera and mobile phones. The Interior Ministry had banned the work of the official Palestine Public TV work in the Gaza Strip on March 4, 2008, and the Government of Dr. Salam Fayyad in Ramallah has banned the work of Al-Aqsa TV of Hamas in the West Bank on 16 September 2007.
(4 Sep.) Freelance cameraman Hamouda Saed A’mireh (29 years) and the Israeli photographer David Reed were injured by the Israeli occupation forces in the village of Ni’lin, west of Ramallah. Hamouda said that he was covering the weekly march against the Apartheid Wall in Ni’lin, with a number of photojournalists. After the march, clashes have occurred between some young men and the occupation soldiers in the village where eight military vehicles gathered, and suddenly one of the soldiers fired a volley of live bullets towards him, wounding by bullet shrapnel in his right foot. Reid, who was standing next to him, was also wounded by shrapnels in his right leg. Hamouda emphasized that the soldier was targeted them directly because “he saw us clearly and the distance between us was less than a hundred meters". Amireh is also working as a cameraman for the Popular Committee against the Wall in Ni’lin.
(4 Sep.) – Former Al-Aqsa TV cameraman, Osaid Amarneh, (24years) was arrested by the Palestinian intelligence force in Bethlehem. Amarneh said that he received a call at about 10:00 pm from the headquarters of the force and they asked him to come to headquarters for a short time. When he arrived, he was questioned whether he returned to work with the Al-Aqsa TV and he was also asked about the work of some correspondents of Al-Aqsa TV in the West Bank. The interrogation continued until about one o’clock in the morning, and then they told him that they will release him the same day, but he remained detained until 16 Sep. Amarneh was arrested several times by Palestinian security forces and he was forced to sign a pledge not to work with Al-Aqsa TV.
(8 Sep.) - Ma’an News Agency correspondent in the Gaza Strip, Ibrahim Mohamad Qanan, and its cameraman, Mohammad Ghabayen, were detained by the Palestinian internal security force. Qanan said that they were preparing a television report about Khan Yunis refugee camp (Gaza strip) and the services provided by UNRWA to the population of the camp, when a vehicle of internal security stopped near them, and its members questioned him about the party to which he works and whether he works for “Palestine Public TV", and he will be harmed if he works with it.
(14 Sep.) – Periodic Seyasat Magazine editor in chief, Dr. Atef Abu Saif, was prevented from traveling by Palestinian security forces in the Gaza Strip. Abu Saif said that he went to the Rafah crossing; however, the internal security force told him that he is forbidden to travel. He repeated trying for the next two days, but he again faced prevention. The security forces have also prevented him from traveling through the Erez crossing on 12August. He confirmed that his prevention from traveling was because of the political comment he made for Palestine Television which raised the ire of the Internal Security Force. This was evident when they spoke to him on the subject and told him that this will probably negatively affect him. Abu Seif, who wrote four novels and short stories and works as a lecturer in political science at Al Azhar University intended to travel to Britain and the United States on a tour of literary and academic purposes.
(25 Sep.) – Reuter’s photographer Abd Al-Rahim Omar Qousini (36 years) was injured by gas canisters fired by Israeli occupation soldiers in Iraq Burin village near the city of Nablus (West Bank). Qousini said that he was covering an anti-settlement march in the village with a group of photojournalists (Chinese agency photographer Ayman Noubani, the Associated Press cameraman Aref Toffaha and Reuter’s cameraman Ashraf Abu Shawish), when the Occupation soldiers fired tear gas canisters against the demonstrators, and suddenly the soldiers turned towards them where were standing about fifteen meters distant to their side and they asked them to leave the area, but they refused and they have fired three tear gas canisters at them . “Although I put on an anti-gas mask, I felt I was unable to breathe due to the density of gas. I took off the mask and ran away, but I fell on a stone wall and I was faint for half an hour". The ambulance crew in the location provided first aid for him and he returned to his normal situation after about an hour.
