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| Israel-Palestine-Jordan |
| Hamas, Fatah under fire for curbing press freedom |
| 2009-11-11 |
| [Ma'an] The rival governments in Gaza and Ramallah came under fire from human rights groups on Tuesday for violations of media freedom. Agents of the Fatah administration in Ramallah jailed a journalist for the Hamas-affiliated television channel Al-Aqsa, while in Gaza Hamas authorities banned a two-day conference organized by the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ). The owner of the Roots Tourist Restaurant where the IFJ conference was to have taken place told Reuters that Hamas government officials ordered him not to host the meeting. Journalists in the West Bank were supposed to join the conference via video link The conference was titled "Declaration of Ethical Journalism Initiative and Standards of Media in Palestine." According to Sami Ziyara, a correspondent for American broadcaster ABC, the Hamas government media office asked IFJ to apply for a permit to hold the conference, but the organization refused on the grounds that holds meetings in countries throughout the world without permits. Ziyara was quoted in a news release from the Palestinian Center for Development and Media Freedoms (MADA) calling the cancellation of the conference a "great disappointment" to journalists in Gaza. The Gaza-base Palestinian Center for Human Rights said that its investigation confirmed the story, and said the ban violated Palestinian law. MADA also noted that on 3 November, Hamas-allied police detained Safwat Al-Kahlout, a correspondent for the Italian news agency ANSA, when he was travelling through the Rafah border crossing with Egypt. In the West Bank, Fatah-allied military intelligence agents arrested Tariq Abu Zeid, a reporter for Hamas-affiliated Al-Aqsa television last Saturday, MADA said. His father said Abu Zeid was summoned by the PA on while he was walking down the street in the city of Nablus. He was also held by PA forces for three weeks last August and September, the organization reported. |
| Posted by:Fred |