Human Rights Watch (really?) Exposes Abuse of Journalists by Hamas and Fatah

B"H

I regard HRW as an incredibly anti-Semitic group who want, more than anything, the end of Israel.  They were one of the forces behind the Goldstone Report (which even Goldstone can't stand behind at this point), and they are behind the constant harassment of Jews living on Jewish land in Yesha.  This group, along with Doctors Without Borders, Peace Now, and Amnesty International have been walking hand in had with terrorists, rapists, murderers, and corrupt politicians for decades--trying to convince us all that Jews are always evil and arabs are always good.

It must be REALLY bad for HRW to actually report that their heros, the "palestinians," are doing something evil. You can bet HRW will have a very difficult time doing ANYTHING with the arabs from now on.  They will find themselves beaten and harassed, I'm sure.

But, I guess, when the harassment is worse when you don't say something than when you do, the scales tip.  I'm sorry that it took so long.  How many idealistic young college students have they bamboozled, how many silly old people have they conned, how many stupid politicians have they convinced by their artificially sweetened rhetoric?

Perhaps the tide is turning against all these arab organizations who held court with the journalists and the liberals.  Now that the "arab uprisings" are happening, those journalists don't know what to do with themselves.  Should they report their old buddies, or the rebels as the good guys?  How shall they slant it now?

What do the poor journalists do when those who they previously lauded in their "struggle against the Israeli occupiers" actually come out and say that the Israelis are the good guys, that the arab governments have been doing some really evil things, and that they want to know why the Western liberals haven't raise their voices against the injustice, sexism, anti-homosexual, and repressive totalitarian governments in the arab Middle East?

It must be really hard to write those "good guy arab/ bad guy Jew" stories these days.

Thank you, HRW, for actually sprinkling a bit of savory truth over your terrorist torte for once!

M

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HRW report says PA abuses journalists
Harsh report from Human Rights Watch exposes abuse, harassment of journalists at hands of Palestinian Authority, Hamas security forces
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4052976,00.html
Elior Levy   


The Palestinian Authority is happy to boast that it operates according to the values of democracy but when it comes to freedom of the press they seem to have followed the example of the Arab dictatorships.

A harsh report published Wednesday by Human Rights Watch exposes the harassment, abuse and arrests of journalists in the West bank and Gaza Strip by  Palestinian Authority and Hamas   security  forces.

The report documents the testimonies of journalists who were beaten and arrested for no apparent reason. Some noted that among other things,  Palestinian Authority officials confiscated their equipment.

The report also expresses harsh criticism towards the Palestinian leadership for not acting to prevent the beatings and harassment, or trying to punish those that carry out the acts. This is why the report determined that the actions taken against the journalists  reflect Palestinian government policy.


Freedom of speech?
Moreover, the report reveals that reporters in the Palestinian territories have become part of the ongoing struggle between Fatah  and Hamas. As attempts of reconciliation between the two factions increased in recent months – so have the number of attacks carried out by security forces against members of the press.

In one of the cases described in the report 15 members of plain-clothes Hamas' security forces raided the Reuters news agency offices in the Gaza Strip, smashed computers, beat journalists, aimed a weapon at one journalist and threatened to throw another journalist out the window.

Notorious reputation

In another case, a Palestinian military court in Jenin sentenced television journalist Tariq Abu Zeid, 34, to 18 months in prison despite  two civilian court rulings ordering his release. Abu Zeid was the northern West Bank correspondent for the Hamas-affiliated Al Aqsa television station, and had worked for the Gaza-based Al-Risala newspaper, also considered to be pro-Hamas.

The court convicted and sentenced him on February 16 for “prejudicing the status” and “opposing the public policy” of the Palestinian Authority.

Freelance journalists that are suspected of researching articles  critical of the Palestinian Authority are arrested and interrogated. For example, the Palestinian Authority’s General Intelligence Service (GIS) detained Muhannad Salahat, a freelance journalist and filmmaker, when he was returning to the West Bank from Jordan without telling him why he was being arrested; he was detained for two weeks without charge in Jericho.

According to Human Rights Watch deputy director of Middle East and North Africa division Joe Stork, Palestinian security forces are becoming notorious for intimidating journalists who are just trying to do their jobs. He says both rival Palestinian governments need to end what he calls "blatant attacks on free expression"

Following  the publication of the report, the organization called on the US and EU  to stipulate that their financial support for the security forces within the Palestinian Authority and Hamas government is dependent on taking action to convict and punish security forces personnel responsible for abusing journalists.