Israeli violations of press freedom

Israeli forces seriously wound Palestinian journalist in Gaza



PCHR condemns shooting at a Palestinian journalist by Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) on Sunday, 2 January 2004, when he was covering an Israeli military incursion into the northern Gaza Strip town of Beit Hanoun. The journalist was seriously wounded by a live bullet. PCHR is concerned at the escalation of attacks by IOF on journalists and media crews, which is further evidence of the use of excessive force by IOF against civilians in general and amounts to a  systematic targeting of journalists in an attempt to silence the press. The goal of which is to prevent journalists from reporting about attacks on Palestinian civilians. 

Journalists accuse Israel of "disgraceful abuse" over arrest of Vanunu



The International Federation of Journalists today accused the Israeli authorities of “a disgraceful abuse of democracy” over the intimidation of Mordechai Vanunu, the whistle-blower arrested yesterday by Israeli police just six months after his release from jail, where he served 18 years for telling the world about Israel’s nuclear arsenal. “It is extraordinary that a country calling itself the only democracy in the Middle East is itself guilty of this disgraceful and grotesque abuse of democracy,” said Aidan White, IFJ General Secretary. “Vanunu has served his time but continues to be persecuted.” 

IPI Intifada Report Says Press Freedom Deteriorating: Heavy Media Casualties, Perpetrators Go Unpunished



The International Press Institute (IPI) today published the IPI Intifada Report, a chronicle and statistical analysis of 562 press freedom violations during the first four years of the Palestinian Uprising. At least 478 press freedom violations were carried out by the Israeli state, including the government, the judiciary, and even the legislators. Sixteen violations were committed by Israeli settlers and civilians. Three were perpetrated jointly by Israeli soldiers and settlers. As a result, at least 497 abuses, or 88.4 per cent of all violations, were perpetrated by Israelis. Another 29 violations were carried out by the Palestinian authorities, 15 by Palestinian militants, 7 by Palestinian civilians, and one jointly by Palestinian authorities and civilians. 

CNN producer kidnapped in Gaza City



The Committee to Protect Journalists is gravely concerned about the kidnapping this evening of a CNN producer in Gaza City by unknown gunmen. CNN reported that Riyadh Ali, a veteran producer for the station, was seized at gunpoint from a car in which he was a passenger with CNN colleagues, including correspondent Ben Wedeman. In an interview on CNN, Wedeman said a gunman emerged from a white Peugeot, came toward the CNN team, and demanded to know which of them was Ali. After the CNN producer was identified, he was taken from the car by the gunman, Wedeman said. Several other armed men were with him. 

CNN producer released in Gaza City



CNN producer Riad Ali was freed and in the custody of Palestinian police today, a day after being abducted by gunmen on a main street in Gaza City, CNN reported. CNN President Jim Walton said the station was “enormously relieved” that Ali had been released. “His ordeal serves to highlight the dangers faced by journalists around the world and we at CNN are grateful that this incident ended the way it did.” CNN said a tape surfaced shortly before Ali’s release in which the producer said he was being held by the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade that earlier denied involvement in the kidnapping, and had joined other groups in condemning it. 

IPI criticises British journalist's treatment



On 1 September, British freelance journalist Ewa Jasiewicz decided to return to the United Kingdom after discontinuing a legal action before the Israeli Supreme Court. Jasiewicz made the decision because, if the court had found against her, it would have created a binding legal precedent for other foreign journalists entering Israel. During the initial stages of the hearing, the court appeared in favour of allowing Jasiewicz to enter Israel but wanted to ban her from the occupied territories. The court then decided to hear evidence from the security forces ex parte, excluding both Jasiewicz and her legal team from the hearing and preventing them from understanding the true nature of the charges made against her. 

Israeli authorities detain British journalist



The International Federation of Journalists today challenged the Israeli authorities to “live up to the expectations of a democracy” and allow a journalist they have banned from entering the country to have access and to report freely. “It is intolerable that the country which claims to be the only democracy in the region is afraid to allow a writer access to the country,” said Aidan White, IFJ General Secretary, over the ban on journalist Ewa Jasiewicz, a member of the IFJ British affiliate the National Union of Journalists. Ewa Jasiewicz landed at Tel Aviv airport last Wednesday and was detained by the authorities, who claim she is a political activist. 

Media watch dog calls for thorough investigation into beating of Israeli filmmaker



In a 28 July 2004 letter to Israeli Public Security Minister Tzachi Hanegbi, RSF called for a “thorough and open” investigation into a brutal assault on Israeli filmmaker David Benchetrit, who was left barely able to walk after being attacked in front of the Defence Ministry in Tel Aviv on 21 April. “We would like to see the police investigation pursued with the utmost vigour so that the perpetrators of this shocking violence are arrested and punished in keeping with the seriousness of the attack,” RSF said in its letter. The filmmaker was attacked as he entered the Defence Ministry for an appointment with ministry spokesperson Ruth Yaron, in connection with a film he is making about Israel’s conscientious objectors. 

Journalists threatened over coverage of political infighting



The Committee to Protect Journalists is alarmed by new threats against Palestinian journalists covering political unrest in the Gaza Strip, the most recent in a months-long series of actions by Palestinian militants and forces intended to stifle independent reporting there. Journalists working for Al-Jazeera and Al-Arabiyya told CPJ they received telephone threats this week from men identifying themselves as PA security personnel or dissident members of President Yasser Arafat’s Fatah organization. The threats centered on the stations’ coverage of fighting in the Gaza Strip that followed Arafat’s July 17 appointment of his cousin, Musa Arafat, as head of security for the Palestinian territories. 

Palestine Journalists Syndicate bans reports on PA crisis



RSF has urged the Palestine Journalists Syndicate (PJS) to drop its ban on journalists reporting on disputes between Palestinians. On 20 July 2004, the union announced that journalists would face “penalties” if they “dealt with or carried statements or publications dealing with internal events and inclined to slander, libel or harm others.” Demonstrations and clashes have taken place in recent days following the 17 July appointment of Palestinian President Yasser Arafat’s cousin Musa Arafat as the Palestinian Authority’s top security chief. The appointment has since been revoked. 

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