The Palestinian Center for Development and Media Freedoms (MADA) denounces the continued detention of journalists in the West Bank and the restrictions on media freedoms in Gaza Strip. Where yesterday, 14/12/2009 the Director of Aqsa TV Office Mohammed Eshtewi, and on Sunday 13 December 2009 the Talk Time website correspondent Musab Hussam Qataloni, were arrested in the West Bank. And In the Gaza Strip the photographers of Diamond for Media Production Samer and Amer Labad were prevented from covering Hamas anniversary.

  
Eshtewi’s wife said that men belonging to Palestinian intelligence service in Tulkarm city arrested her husband yesterday from a shop near his home. She mentioned that the (PIS) called her husband on Saturday, 12 December 2009, where he remained under investigation all the day, and they summoned him again in the next day and he still there about three hours, after that they arrested him yesterday.

On another hand, Qataloni mother said that members from the Palestinian intelligence service in Nablus city came to her house about 10:00 pm in two civilian cars and took her son to the intelligence headquarters in Junaid. She added that the men talked with them roughly and they refused to answer about the reason for the arrest of her son. The Palestinian Preventive Security summoned Qataloni to their headquarter on Saturday, 12/12/2009, and he still there from 10:00 am until 3:00 pm.

And in Gaza Strip, a members belonging to Palestinian internal security prevented the photojournalists Samer and Amer Labad from covering Hamas anniversary. Samer Labad said that he was with his brother on the surface of building to film the festival and suddenly two security men approached them and told them that photography is prohibited here, and they told them there are a lot of journalists taking pictures from the same place, Why you just preventing us? Then they took their identity cards and the security men said to them: “you will take them tomorrow from our headquarters in Abu Khadra." And when they went the next day they were detained for one hour, and after that they photographed them, then they released them, but they didn’t give them their identity cards.

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MADA center condemns these new violations of media freedoms in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, and demands the stopping of journalist detention policy, and to release all detained journalists.