9 January 2007
JOURNALISTS CAUGHT IN THE CROSSFIRE
Journalists working in the Palestinian territories take great risks to bring the news to the rest of the world. But in the Gaza Strip, where the security situation is less stable than in other Palestinian-administered areas, media safety is becoming an increasing concern, says Reporters Without Borders (Reporters sans frontières, RSF).
According to an RSF report, the biggest threats to journalists' safety are the Israeli army and Palestinian militants.
In 2006, the Israeli army attacked or threatened 16 journalists and destroyed the offices of three news media organisations, while Palestinian militants caused damage to the offices of seven media organisations and attacked at least four journalists. Six foreign journalists were also kidnapped by Palestinians and later released.
In December 2006, RSF sent a fact-finding mission to Israel and the Gaza Strip, where it met with Israeli and Palestinian authorities to raise press freedom concerns and propose ways of improving the safety of journalists.
The report notes that violent clashes between rival Palestinian factions, including Hamas and Fatah, have had serious repercussions on the media. Journalists who criticise a politician, faction or security official are often perceived by one side as working for a rival faction.
Several journalists who work for the Palestinian Broadcasting Corporation and the WAFA Palestine News Agency were attacked last year by Hamas supporters, who accused the news organisations of being mouthpieces for Fatah.
Meanwhile, increasing numbers of foreign journalists are being used as bargaining chips between rival Palestinian factions, notes RSF. In 2006, six were abducted and later released following international pressure.
This month, Agence France Presse photographer Jaime Razuri was held for six days after being kidnapped on 1 January, reported RSF, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) and the Institute for Press and Society (Instituto Prensa y Sociedad, IPYS). He was released on 7 January. According to CPJ, Razuri was the 14th journalist abducted by gunmen in the Gaza Strip since 2004.
The Israeli army has also made it more precarious for journalists covering clashes between the Israel Defence Forces and Palestinian militants, says RSF. Since the start of the second Intifada, or Palestinian uprising, on 29 September 2000, at least five journalists have been killed and 62 have been wounded by Israeli gunfire, according to the group. RSF has urged Israeli authorities to thoroughly investigate all incidents involving journalists and to publish the findings of the investigations.
RSF has also suggested that journalists working in the Palestinian territories be given distinctive signs identifying them more clearly as members of the press, and that a regulatory body be established to monitor biased and unethical reporting.
RSF's mission follows an IFJ visit last November where the federation met with members of the Palestinian Journalists Syndicate to discuss safety issues and trade union development.
Read RSF's report here: http://www.rsf.org/IMG/pdf/rapport_en_md.pdf
Visit these links:
- CPJ: http://www.cpj.org/news/2007/mideast/gaza08jan07na.html
- IFJ: http://www.ifj.org/default.asp?Index=4544&Language=EN
- IPYS: http://www.ipys.org/alertas/atentado.php?id=998
- Human Rights Watch: http://hrw.org/english/docs/2006/10/06/isrlpa14337.htm
(Photo of Jaime Razuri)
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