If not attacked by Israeli soldiers, journalists are attacked by Palestinian security forces

Saturday September 01, 2007 15:00 by Ghassan Bannoura - IMEMC

Palestinian journalists were this week attacked three times by Palestinian Authority forces in the Gaza strip. Similarly, security forces last week attacked journalists and media organizations in the West Bank. While Palestinian journalists have always had to deal with the brutality of the Israeli army, these new attacks set a dangerous new precedent in which journalists now have to be concerned over attacks from their own security forces.

Palestinian Journalists protest against recent attacks

The Palestinian constitution grantees the freedom of press, and grants local and international journalists the right to cover news freely across the occupied Palestinian territories. Despite this, attacks against those working in the news are on the increase, and journalists are being used as pawns in a disturbing political game in which the need to display power seemingly over-rides any commitment to the freedom of the press.

Such a situation gravely complicates an already trouble environment. Palestinian journalists are now asking themselves how they are best able to communicate with the rest of the world when they are being forced to write about two separate Palestinian governments, both of whom are hostile to one another.

Abded Al Salam Shihada, a Palestinian journalist for the Ramatan News Agency in Gaza, spoke with IMEMC of the problems faced by those attempting to report the news in a fair and unbiased manner, calling to both Fatah and Hamas to respect the rights guaranteed to journalists under the Palestinian constitution.

"Journalists have the right to access information, to document and to write. The Palestinian people also have the right to freedom of the press, and freedom of expression, wither they are Fatah or Hamas. Political groups have to accept and respect this.”

On Friday, approximately 11 people were injured by the Hamas-affiliated Executive force as they held a protest in Gaza City. Of the most shocking images from this protest was the footage of officers savagely beating one journalist as he lay prone on the ground.

IMEMC spoke to Dr. Khalil Abu Lilah, a Hamas leader in the Gaza strip, of this attack. Abu Lilah stated “we say that any Palestinian has the right to free expression, that journalists have the right to be able to work without restriction. Nevertheless, when the protesters attacked public and private property, security forces were forced to use force to stop them, and that is what happened on Friday."

When asked why journalists were attacked, Dr. Abu Lilah stated "everyone knows that, in the heat of the moment, some misconduct can happen. I think this conduct will be investigated, and those who were guilty of using excessive force will be punished according to Palestinian law.”

Despite the many attacks on journalists and civilians in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, not one member of the security forces has faced criminal charges. It would seem that, so long as such a situation continues to exist, Palestinian journalists must now be wary of not only the brutality of the Israeli army, but of their own security forces also.

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