Freedom of expression in Palestine faced a new setback in August with journalists subjected to further violations. Israeli occupation forces committed numerous violations, including arrests, detentions, attacks and the prevention from coverage.
Despite the expectations of a continued decrease of Palestinian security service violations, the numbers of incidences were both higher and more varied, including major threats to freedom of expression and the right of access to information.
IOF arrests 3 journalists
Israeli occupation forces arrested 3 journalists in the West Bank in August, 2 of which remain in custody, bringing the total number of Palestinian journalists incarcerated in Israeli jails to 4.
On 8 May 2011 the IOF arrested the West Bank’s Felesteen newspaper office director Walid Khalid, and Al-Quds TV program coordinator Nawaf Al-Amer on 28 June 2011, and on 9th of August 2011, arrested the Al-Jazeera Afghanistan Bureau Chief Samer Allawy while crossing the Alkarameh/Allenby border from the West Bank to Jordan after spending his annual vacation with family in Sabastya village near Nablus city. Shihab agency correspondent Amer Abu Arafeh was later arrested on 21 August 2011 and sentenced to 6 months administration detention. At the end of the month, 28 August 2011 Aqsa TV cameraman Osaid Amarneh was released on after one week in IOF custody.
In addition to arrests, IOF personnel also committed various additional violations, such as the attack against on Aljazeera channel crew – cameraman Nabil Mizawi and correspondent Shireen Abu Akleh – while covering Friday prayers on 19 August 2011, and the detention of a group of journalists preparing to cover the peaceful march against the Wall in Al Walajeh village, near Bethlehem city.
Increase in Palestinian violations
The number of Palestinian violations has seen a significant increase in August compared to the previous 3 months which had seen improvement. In the Gaza Strip, members of the internal security services of the Hamas government prevented Alhuriya Lil’lam center correspondent Wisam Zogbor from filming in the Alrimal area in Gaza on Friday 17 August 2011. Internal security services also summoned WAFA Agency correspondent Fathi Tbeil on Thursday 18 August 2011, after reporting on solidarity sit –in with the Palestinian refugees of Alrimal camp in Syria which was shelled by Syrian forces. Police members of the Hamas government also attacked a WAFA agency correspondent while preparing a report in Khanyounis. In addition to internal security, Palestine Voice correspondent Tamim Muamar, faced 2 hours of interrogation by the internal security in Gaza border at the Rafah crossing before allowing him to travel to Egypt.
In the West Bank, the journalists Majdolen Hasouneh was summoned for investigation at the Nablus headquarters of the preventative security service on Wednesday 3 August 2011, when she refused to appear before the headquarters as requested, the security services retaliated by arresting 2 of her brothers. The preventative security service also arrested Radio Alam presenter Muntaser Nassar at his home in Hebron city on Saturday 20 August 2011. Writer and academic Dr. Abdel Sater Qasem was arrested and held in custody for many days following the publishing of an article he had written, and released following a personal appeal from President Mahmoud Abbas.
Additionally in August, the Palestinian Attorney General issued in Ramallah final orders sanctioning the forcible suspension of the programme WATAN 3 WATAR on Palestine Public TV.
Conclusion and Recommendations:
The Palestinian Center for Development and Media Freedoms (MADA) strongly condemns all the Israeli violations against press freedom in the occupied Palestinian territories, particularly the illegal arrests of journalists, which stand in direct contravention to article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. MADA calls upon all formal and informal institutions of the International community to intervene immediately and petition the release of the 4 journalists currently held in Israeli prisons, and to hold accountable all parties in Israel responsible for the continued violations.
MADA additionally denounces all Palestinian security service perpetrated violations in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, and expresses its deep concern over the remarkable decline on freedom of expression in the past month. MADA demands that the concerned authorities halt all violations and respect freedom of expression, guaranteed under the auspices of Palestinian Basic Law, particularly article 19, which states: “Every person shall have the right to freedom of thought, conscience and expression, and shall have the right to publish his opinion orally, in writing, or in any form of art, or through any other form of expression, provided that it does not contradict with the provisions of law”, and to hold accountable all responsible for the violations.
