The ongoing assaults on media freedoms in the Palestinian territories had
been continued, since several decades by Israeli occupation authorities,
before yesterday ( Sunday, 22 June) they arrested Ramatan News Agency crew
composed of montage technician Fuad Frroukh, cameraman Rami Hajahjeh,
sound engineer Nobl Nabeel and broadcast engineer Mohammad Marbua’
.
The Israeli occupation forces had stopped the crew at Za’tara checkpoint
during their travel from Ramallah to Nablus, where they were detained from
9.30 am. until about three o’clock afternoon, after the check point
soldiers received an order to stop the car, which its descr iption was
given to them, in pretext one of the crew throw a stone at a settler
direction.

At approximately three o’clock pm. the Israeli police came, and arrested
the four crew members and transferred them to the Benjamin investigation
center, located in Beit Eil military camp near Ram Allah. They brought
the settler, who claimed that Frroukh is the one who throw the stone
towards him. About 11.30 pm. Nabeel and Marbua’ were released, while
Frroukh and Hajahjeh remained in detention.

Palestinian Center for Development and Media Freedoms (Mada) strongly
condemns the arrest of the crew Agency Ramatan crew, which is a flagrant
violation of media freedoms, it calls on international institutions to
pressure the Government of Israel to release Hajahjeh and Frroukh, and all
journalists detained in Israeli jails.

Ramallah