Last March witnessed an escalation in violations of media freedoms in the Palestinian territories, especially by Israeli occupation authorities, which carried out arrests of journalists and the closure of radio stations, among other incidents. Palestinian authorities also arrested journalists. A Palestinian politician and Israeli Ministry each led a campaign against Al-Jazeera.
Israeli authorities arrested Hasan Abdel Jawad, Administrative Council Member of the Palestinian Journalists Syndicate and “Al-Ayyam" newspaper"s correspondent, and Ahmed Sonnuqrut, the sound engineer at Radio Seraj. They also, closed Almajd Radio in Jenin city, confiscated its equipment, and raided Manbar Al-Hureya and Seraj Radios in Hebron, and confiscated equipment, They detained the Ramatan Agency crew (cameraman Hadi Al-Debs, producer Baker Njelah) for four hours at Hiwara checkpoint. They attacked journalists: Fadi Arouri, George Halteh, Njoud Al-Qasem, Guevara Budeiri, Khaled Sabarneh, Muheeb Barghouthi,, and endangered the lives of journalists in Jabalia through shelling on the area of their presence.
The phenomenon of arresting journalists continued in the West Bank at the hands of Palestinian security services, with the arrests of journalists Musa"b Qataloni, Nawaf Al-A"mer, Muhamed Al-Qeeq and Tareq Shehab. Palestinian forces also assaulted journalist Abel Khabesa, while continuing the trial in Hebron city of A"la Taiti and Osaid Amarneh from Aqsa TV.
The Ministry of the Interior in the dismissed government prevented Palestinian Public TV correspondents in the Gaza Strip Adel Za"noun and Sameer Khalifah from posting any news to television headquarters in Ramallah. In addition, the trial of the editor-in-chief of “Al-Hayat Al-Jadidah" Hafez Al-Barghuti, in Gaza city is being carried out using an archaic law from the 1930s.
The past month had witnessed the emergence of a campaign to boycott Al-Jazeera initiated by Legislative Council member Najat Abu Baker. The Israeli Foreign Ministry also announced a boycott of Al-Jazeera. Israeli media outlets launched a fierce campaign against the satellite channel, using as a pretext its bias towards Palestinians in general, Hamas and Islamic extremist forces in particular.
Mada considers the campaign against Al-Jazeera TV as an attempt to limit freedom of opinion, expression and the free flow of information, especially by the State of Israel, which wants to withhold from the world its crimes against the Palestinian people particularly in the Gaza Strip. Palestinian parties accuse Al-Jazeera of bias towards Hamas and inflaming Palestinian internal conflict, which may constitute a pretext for aggression against it, as happened in earlier attacks on Al-Jazeera and Al-Arrabiya TV, using as a pretext that the first one is pro-Hamas and the second one is pro-Fatah. Now a group calling itself “Justice and Equality" is threatening to assault the offices of Al-Jazeera correspondents in the Gaza Strip.
Mada welcomes the initiative of the police leadership in the West Bank, which distributed a circular to its members to cooperate with journalists (following the attack on Khabesa), in order to enable them to carry out their work, and to provide protection and free movement for them. Mada emphasizes the need for such assistance, in addition to education of human rights issues, in particular the right to freedom of opinion and expression. Some members of the security services in the West Bank and Gaza Strip have carried out attacks on journalists as a personal initiative.
Mada also appreciates the initiative of 19 local radio stations of unified broadcast for two hours under the slogan “Yes to reconciliation and national unity", which started being broadcast on Radio Al-Iman (the Faith) in Gaza, on March 26. This initiative demonstrates the positive role that the media can play in advocating for reconciliation and resolving problems through dialogue.
Mada renews its condemnation of attacks on journalists and media outlets by:
• Demanding the release of the journalists detained by Israel and the Palestinian National Authority, and to enable the media to work and distribute information freely.
• Demanding the cessation of journalists" arrests and providing the appropriate atmosphere for them to carry out their professional duty.
• Demands cessation of trials against journalists Hafiz Barghouthi, Ala Taiti and Osaid Amarneh.
• Demanding cessation of campaigns against Al-Jazeera TV, and incitement against other media outlets.
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Monthly Summary Report
(March 1) - the Israeli occupation forces shot at the press crews of France Press Agency, Al-Jazeera TV, Ramatan Agency and others, during their presence in Jabalya refugee camp, to cover the Israeli invasion of the region.
(March 2) - Associated Press cameraman Abed Khabesa was beaten and insulted, by a Palestinian police officer, after a quarrel between them, when Khabesa refused to hand over a video, in which he filmed a group of Palestinian police, who were carrying batons in front of Abdel Nasser Mosque in Al-Bireh city, after rumors spread on the possibility of a demonstration by worshippers after noon prayer, in solidarity with Gaza citizens. Another police officer grabbed the video from the camera during the quarrel .
(March 3) - Ramatan Agency crew (cameraman Hadi Al-Debs, producer Baker Abu Njeleh) were detained for about four hours at the Hiwara checkpoint south of Nablus, by Israeli occupation forces, who also prevented them from preparing a reportage about the occupation measures at the checkpoint, on the pretext that it is a closed military zone, the occupation forces had detained Ramatan crew (Hadi Al-Debs, Kamal Al-Azraq) at the same checkpoint on September 23, 2007 on the pretext they wear a helmet and protective shield, the same which Israeli soldiers wear.
(March 4) - Palestinian Public TV correspondents in the Gaza Strip, Adel Zaa"noun and Sameer Khalifah, were prevented from sending news reports or even to contact the TV headquarters in Ramallah, by the Ministry of Interior in the dismissed government. The correspondents used to cover only Israeli attacks on Gaza Strip, which was sent via telephone, they avoided to send any news reports concerning the internal Palestinian situation, since June 14, 2007.
(March 5) - Freelance journalist Musa"ab Qataloni, was arrested by Palestinian intelligence service at his home in Nablus city, although he underwent knee surgery in a few days before his arrest.
(March 10) - Hasan Abdel Jawad, Administrative Council member of Palestinian journalists syndicate and “Al-Ayyam" newspaper correspondent, was arrested at his home in Dheisheh refugee camp near Bethlehem city by Israeli occupation forces. He had been released in March 28 on bail of 75,000 shekels (about $21,000), and 5,000 shekels were paid before his release by a decision of a Military Court, after he had been placed under city arrest (in Bethlehem city) until the trial. He was accused of being a member of the leadership in the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine.
(March 11) – Almajd (Glory) local Radio in Jenin was closed by Israeli occupation forces, after they raided the Radio headquarters, and confiscated all its equipment and belongings (transmitter, equalizer, three DVD players, television set, stereo, three computers, printer, and scanner videos, as well as all the furniture, the kitchen tools and air conditioner). In Jenin there are six local radio and television stations broadcasting from the city.
(March 11) - Freelance journalist Mohamed Alqeeq was arrested by the Palestinian intelligence service in Hebron city, while he was covering the march of civil organizations, organized to protest the decision of the Israeli occupation authorities to close a number of charitable institutions in the city, he was released on March 27.
(March 12) – Editor in Ramatan Agency Nawaf Al-Amer was arrested by Palestinian Preventive Security Service, after a group of its officers and elements raided Ramatan office in Ramallah city, where they confiscated his computer, personal and professional documents from his office. The investigation had been focused on the contents of his e-mail, which allegedly concerned the Palestinian security. He was obliged to open it for them so they copied all its contents, he was released the next day.
(March 21) – A group calling itself “Justice and Equality in Palestine" distributed a leaflet which threatened to attack Al-Jazeera TV offices and correspondents in Gaza strip, on the pretext of the TV interfering in Palestinian affairs and inflaming the internal conflict.
(March 23) - Associated Press cameraman Mohammed Pallase was beaten by an Israeli occupation soldier, who also aimed his rifle towards him and threatened to shoot at him. He was with WAFA Agency photographer Seif Al-Dean Dahleh, Reuter"s photographer Mohammed Turkman, and Al-Quds newspaper correspondent Ali Samodi, covering the siege imposed by Israeli occupation forces on the surrounding areas of Arab American university, during its military operation in Tilfeet village (Jenin), The soldiers preventing them from completing their coverage and asked them to leave the place immediately.
(March 23) - Tareq Shehab, the Sawt Al-Aqsa Radio reporter in northern West Bank, was arrested from his home in Anabta town (Tulkarem) by the Palestinian intelligence service. He had been summoned for investigation that morning for several hours. Shehab was arrested January 5 by the Palestinian security services, and was released after three days.
(March 24) - Ahmed Sunnuqrut, Seraj local radio sound engineer, was arrested by the Israeli occupation forces, who raided the radio headquarters in Hebron city and confiscated all its equipment (transmission system, mixer, four computers and files), which led to the stoppage of work. The occupation forces had raided the radio on December 7, 2006 and arrested its Director Abdel Jabbar Abu Sneineh.
(March 24) - Manbar Al-Hureya (Freedom Forum) local Radio was raided in Hebron city by Israeli occupation forces, where they forced the Radio crew broadcasters Raed Al-Sharif, Raed Atrash, Saed Alshiokhi and Odai Hejazi to stand by the entrance wall throughout the raid, which lasted approximately an hour and a half. They devastated the entire contents of the headquarters and confiscated two computers and cut the broadcasting cable, which led to the stoppage of the broadcast for six hours. The occupation forces had previously raided the radio on the seventh of December 2006.
(March 26) - George Halteh, a Pal Media Agency cameraman, was injured by a rubber bullet in his right leg, and Fadi Arouri, “Al-Ayyam" newspaper correspondent and photographer, was attacked and pushed on the ground. He sustained various bruises at the hands of Israeli occupation forces. The forces also fired tear gas deliberately at them and Tunisian television correspondent Njoud Al-Qasem, Al-Jazeera correspondent Guevara Budeiri, Iranian television cameraman Khaled Sabarneh, and “Al-Hayat Al-Jadidah" newspaper photographer Muheeb Barghouthi, during their coverage of the weekly march against the Apartheid Wall in Bela"in village (Ramallah).
