Palestinian Centre for Development & Media Freedoms (Mada)

Media freedom violations during August 2008

This past August witnessed a noticeable decline of media freedom violations in the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT), compared to the previous month, especially by the Palestinian security services.

During August, the Israeli occupation forces injured freelance cameraman Imad Bernat in the foot. They also raided Munber Al-Hureya radio, One FM radio and Majd TV in Hebron city, confiscated equipment from them, and arrested two of their employees: Mahmoud Qannibi and Mohamed Salem Qfishah. They prevented “Alquds" newspaper from entering Gaza Strip, and detained Nile TV envoy Tamer Hanafi and cameramen Ethar Abu Garbeyah.

The violations committed by Palestinian security forces in the West Bank concluded with the arrests of “Felesteen" newspaper columnist Isam Shawar and freelance journalist Abed Allah Mahmoud Adawi, and the closing of Sawt Alsha"b Radio in Gaza city.

Last month witnessed the attempt by Palestinian security forces in the West Bank to apply a new policy of detaining journalists according to the military judicial system. An attempt was made to apply this policy on Aqsa TV correspondent A"la Titi (who was arrested on July 27 until August 17) and Al-Jazeera.net reporter Awad Rajoub (who was arrested on July 29 until August 26).

The attempt to implement the military low on journalists in West Bank, and implementing old laws, by the dismissed government in Gaza in the case of “Al-Ayyam" newspaper last Februar, is referring to the willingness of the two governments and security services, in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, to use illegal means to limit freedom of expression and to exact revenge from the other party.

Another concern was raised by columnist Dr. Esam Shawar, who was required by the intelligence service to apologize for two articles published in “Felesteen" newspaper under the pretext of defamation. We believe this is, in addition to being a rude violation of freedom of expression, a new attempt to silence the voice of the writer and other voices that criticize the performance of the government and negotiating team.

The Palestinian Centre for Development and Media Freedoms (Mada) condemns all attacks on journalists and media outlets whether committed by Israeli occupation forces or the Palestinian security services in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, and the Israeli decision to acquit the killers of Reuter"s cameraman Fadel Shana"a.

Mada:

• Calls for the release of journalists detained in Israeli and Palestinian prisons.
• Demands free distribution of all Palestinian newspapers, freedom of action for all media outlets.
• Demands Palestinian authorities in the West Bank and Gaza Strip stop using illegal procedures to limit press freedoms.
• Demands the formation of an international investigation committee to uncover the circumstances of the murder of journalist Fadel Shana"a.
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Details of the violations:

(August 1)- Freelance cameraman Imad Bernat was wounded by Israeli occupation forces. Bernat said he was shot by rubber bullets in his left foot during his coverage of the weekly march against building the apartheid wall in Bila"in village (Ramallah). Bernat was wounded several times during his ongoing coverage of the weekly march in his village of Bila"in. He was also arrested on October 6, 2006 for three weeks by the occupation forces.

(August 2)- “Sawt Alsha"b") Voice of the People) radio in Gaza city was closed by Palestinian police according to an order by the Interior Ministry in the dismissed government, “for its role in the spread of lies and rumors and inciting sedition between the sons of the one people," according to the statement, distributed by the ministry. The statement of the Radio administration said the police stormed the radio headquarters at noon and forced workers to stop broadcasting and leave the headquarters, taking their keys and closing it. The statement denied the ministry allegations and described the information as unfounded “as the radio plays a distinctive national unitary role". The closure decision has been cancelled on August 5. It is worth mentioning that the radio headquarters was raided on June 16, 2007 and all its equipment and devices were seized by Palestinian armed group, which led to the halt of broadcasting at the time.

(August18)- Columnist in “Felesteen" newspaper Dr. Isam Shawar was arrested by Palestinian Intelligence service in Qalqilya city (WB), on the grounds of defamation
of the President of the Negotiations team Ahmed Qurei and Prime Minister Salam Fayyad. He was accused of having defamed them in two articles published on July 17 and 18. Shawar said he was arrested from his clinic in Qalqilya, then investigated about the two articles and obliged to apologise. He was released on August 20. Shawar was arrested on May 8 for eleven days by the same force.

(August 20)- Israeli occupation forces raided two local radio and one TV stations in Hebron city on the pretext of confusing air traffic at Ben Gurion Airport. Officials at Munber Al-Hureya radio, One FM radio, and Majd TV confirmed the arrest of two of their employees. The forces raided the stations in the morning and confiscated two transmitters and a filter from One FM Radio and arrested its director Mohamed Salem Qfishah, who was released in the evening the same day. They delivered the confiscated equipment. In Munber Al-Hureya Radio they sabotaged the transmitter and arrested the announcer Mahmoud Qaenibi, who was released the same evening. In Majd TV they sabotaged the broadcasting system via an iron tool, (the television broadcast was on hold from about a year ago, but the headquarters is used by BBC radio.) They confiscated its transmitter, which had been handed to Majd TV owner Tariq Kyali. He was summoned to a police station in Kiryat Arba" settlement near the city, where they detained and investigated him and accused him of confusing traffic at Ben Gurion Airport. He was released on bail after several hours.

(August 23)- Israeli occupation forces detained Egyptian Nile TV news envoy Tamer Hanafi and cameramen Ethar Abu Garbeyah. Hanafi said he was stopped at Hezma checkpoint when they were traveling from Ramallah to Jerusalem where they were detained for about two hours on the pretext of filming the check point, and then they were transferred to the Atarot police station, where they were investigating them on the same subject for an hour and a half

(August 23)- Israeli occupation authorities prevented “Alquds" newspaper from entering Gaza Strip, on the Beit Hanoun crossing (Eretz). The newspaper"s office director in Gaza, Ahmed Al-Zeibaq, said they prevented the entry of the newspaper on the pretext of lack of coordination with the occupation authorities on the crossing. It is worth mentioning that the dismissed government had banned the newspaper, in addition to “Al-Hayat Al-Jadidah" and “Al-Ayyam", on July 27 from entering Gaza Strip. It has allowed its distribution in August 22, while the ban remains in effect for “Al-Hayat Al-Jadidah" and “Al-Ayyam" newspapers. At the same time “Felesteen" and “Alresaleh" newspapers are still prevented from printing and distribution in the West Bank since June14, 2007.

(August 26)- Freelance journalist Abed Allah Mahmoud Adawi was arrested by Palestinian preventive security service in Bethlehem city. His mother said that Adawi was summoned to their headquarters in Bethlehem on August 24, but they asked him to return after two days - he went and was arrested. Adawi"s office was attacked by an armed Palestinian group on June14, 2007.