Silencing the Press
A Report on Israeli Aggression against Journalists
E-mail: pchr@pchrgaza.org
Web-page: www.pchrgaza.org
September 29 – November 20, 2000
“ Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this
right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to
seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and
regardless of frontiers.” (Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of
Human Rights of 1948.)
“Everyone shall have the right to freedom of expression; this right
shall include freedom to seek, receive and impart information and
ideas of all kinds, regardless of frontiers, either orally, in
writing, or print, in the form of art, or through any other media of
his choice.”
(Article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political
Rights of 1966)
“Journalists engaged in dangerous professional missions in areas of
armed conflict shall be considered as civilians … They shall be
protected as such under the Conventions and this protocol, provided
that they take no action adversely affecting their status as
civilians…”
(Article 79 of Protocol Additional to the Geneva Conventions of 12
August 1949 ‘Protocol 1.’) -------
Introduction:
Since the outbreak of what has come to be known as "Al-Aqsa Intifada,"
journalists and reporters of local and international press agencies
have not been immune to blatant violations perpetrated by the Israeli
occupation forces against defenseless Palestinian civilians. Many of
these journalists, especially photographers and cameramen who were
covering the incidents of Al-Aqsa Intifada, were chased, intimidated
and shot by the Israeli occupation forces. Shooting at international
and local journalists and reporters, to hinder their covering of these
incidents, has become a prominent aspect of a policy adopted by the
Israeli occupation forces, which aims at hiding their crimes and
killings against defenseless Palestinian civilians. These particular
actions escalated after waves of criticism directed at the Israeli
government by the international community and public opinion. Million
of people watched on television stations the willful cold-blooded
killing of Palestinian children and young men by the Israeli
occupation forces, especially the assassination of the child Mohammed
Al-Durreh at Al-Shuhada’ (Netzarim) junction in the Gaza Strip. This
child was assassinated before the eyes of the world, as a brave
journalist covered it for all television stations in the world. This
crime has shaken all human feelings, and has revealed the real face of
a racist and inhumane occupation.
Despite the consensus of the international community that journalists
must be protected while carrying out their duties, the Israeli
occupation forces, on several occasions willfully shot at them while
they were covering clashes of Al-Aqsa Intifada, in a blatant violation
of relevant international conventions and law. These practices come
as a tangible expression of slighting international law and
international humanitarian law by the Israeli occupation forces.
These laws ensure, inter alia, the protection of journalists and the
right to receive and impart information as preconditions to
implementing the right to a free press. The following section surveys
significant practices by the Israeli occupation forces against
journalists since the outbreak of clashes between Palestinian
civilians and the Israeli occupation forces.
Israeli Practices against Journalists:
Israeli occupation forces shot at journalists and staff of
international and local press agencies on several occasions during the
period of September 28-November 20, 2000. These shootings are
summarized below.
On September 29, 2000:
A unit of the Israeli occupation forces beat the journalist Khaled Abu
Akar, correspondent of France 2 and correspondent of The New York
Times, when he was covering clashes between Palestinian civilians and
the Israeli occupation forces inside Al-Haram Al-Sharif (the Holy
Sanctuary). The incident took place when Abu Akar refused to hand a
rubber-coated metal bullet he found on the ground to an Israeli
soldier. Israeli soldiers started to beat the mentioned journalist
with sticks. On the same day, while he was covering the same clashes,
the journalist Mahfouzh Abu Turk, a cameraman of France 2, was wounded
with a rubber-coated metal bullet in the left side, shot by the
Israeli occupation forces inside Al-Haram Al-Sharif. This incident
took place while Abu Turk was photographing clashes between
Palestinian civilians and the Israeli occupation forces from behind a
stone bar inside Al-Haram Al-Sharif. Soldiers of the Israeli
occupation forces also beat journalist Khaled Zaghri, a photographer
of Reuters, while he was covering the same clashes. The journalist
Hazem Bader, a photographer of the Associated Press, was wounded with
a rubber-coated metal bullet in the right eye. Soldiers of the
Israeli occupation forces also beat Awadh Awadh, a photographer of
Agence France Presse, and tried to break his photography equipment,
while he was covering the same clashes.
In Hebron, the Israeli occupation forces shot at Aamer El-Jabari, a
reporter of NBC, wounding him with a bullet in the head, while he was
covering clashes between Palestinian civilians and the Israeli
occupation forces. The wounded reporter was evacuated to Hadasa
hospital. The Israeli occupation forces also shot at Naji Dana, a
cameraman of France 2, wounding him with a rubber-coated metal bullet,
while he was covering the same clashes. The Israeli occupation forces
beat Luai Abu Haikal, a reporter of Reuters, and wounded Wael
El-Shiokhi, an independent journalist, with a rubber-coated metal
bullet in the side. Read Awadh, a cameraman of the Palestinian
television channel Watan, was wounded by a bullet in the foot.
Rami Noufal, a reprter of the Palestinian Broadcasting Station, was
beaten by Israeli occupation troops at a roadblock stationed by these
troops in Bethlehem.
In Gaza, the Israeli occupation forces beat Wafiq Mattar, a journalist
of the Palestinian Political Steering Bueau, injuring him in several
parts of the body.
On September 30, 2000:
The Southern Commander of the Israeli army Yom Tov Samia, issue a
decision preventing all those of Israeli nationality, including
journalists and reporters, from entering the areas of the Palestinian
National Authority. This decision aimed at hiding facts about what was
taking place in the occupied Palestinian territories, and preventing
Arab citizens in Israel from learning what was going on there.
Mouaffaq Turki Qassem Mattar, 46 years old, a photographer of
Falasteen Al-Yawm (Palestine Today) Press in Ramallah, was wounded
with a rubber-coated metal bullet in the head, while he was covering
clashes between Palestinian civilians and the Israeli occupation
forces near Al-Shuhada’ (Netzarim) junction to the south of Gaza City.
On October 2, 2000:
The car of Mawan El-Ghoul, a cameraman of CBC, and director of Mayadin
Company for Media and Television Production, was shelled by an Israeli
combat helicopter. It was completely destroyed. This incident took
place near Al-Shuhada’ (Netzarim) junction in the Gaza Strip, while
El-Ghoul was covering clashes between Palestinian civilians and the
Israeli occupation forces. El-Ghoul stated that his car was
distinguished from all cars in the area as a press car by identifying
signs in Arabic and English. Inside the car, there was photography
equipment estimated to be valued at no less than US$ 20,000.
Hazem Bader, a photographer of the Associated Press, was wounded with
a live bullet in the right hand, shot by the Israeli occupation
forces, while he was covering clashes between Palestinian civilians
and these forces inside Al-Haram Al-Sharif.
Israeli occupation troops shot at Mazen Dana, a photographer of
Reuters, wounding him with a rubber-coated metal bullet in the right
leg, while he was covering clashes between the Palestinian civilians
and the Israeli occupation forces in El-Shallala street in Hebron.
On October 4, 2000:
Atta Oweisat, a photographer of Zoom 77 press agency, was beaten and
humiliated by Israeli occupation troops, while he was covering a
funeral procession of a Palestinian martyr, Mohammed El-Sarkhi, in the
village of Jabal El-Mukabber near Jerusalem. Oweisat stated that a
group of seven Israeli soldiers attacked him, forced him to lie down
and started hitting him in the stomach and neck. As a result, he
fainted and was evacuated to hospital. He left hospital on the same
day.
On October 9, 2000:
Israeli occupation troops shot rubber-coated metal bullets at Luce
Delahye, a photographer of Newsweek, hitting and damaging the lens of
his camera. The incident took place while he was covering clashes
between Palestinian civilians and the Israeli occupation forces in
Ramallah. A week later, in the same city, Delahye was wounded by a
rubber-coated metal bullet in the forehead, while he was photographing
a young Palestinian man who had been wounded by a live bullet in the
head during clashes between Palestinian civilians and the Israeli
occupation forces.
On October 14, 2000:
The car of journalists Hssan El-Titi and Abdel-Rahman Qousini, of the
Associated Press, was attacked by Jewish settlers near the village of
Hawwara near Nablus. The front part of the car and its glass were
crushed.
On October 17, 2000:
For the second time, the Israeli occupation forces shot at Mahfouzh
Abu Turk, a photographer of Reuters, wounding him with a rubber-coated
metal bullet in the hand. This incident took place while Abu Turk was
covering clashes between Palestinian civilians and the Israeli
occupation forces in Bethlehem after a funeral procession of a
Palestinian martyr. Abu Turk was evacuated to Beit Jala hospital for
treatment and left the hospital on the same day.
On October 18, 2000:
Israeli occupation troops shot at Patrick Baz, a photographer of
France Press, wounding him with a rubber-coated metal bullet in the
hand. This incident took place while he was covering clashes between
Palestinian civilians and the Israeli occupation forces in Ramallah.
Eyewitnesses asserted that Baz was with another photographer and was
wearing a helmet and a bulletproof vest, and that it was clear that he
was a journalist photographing clashes between Palestinian civilians
and the Israeli occupation forces.
On October 20, 2000:
Israeli occupation forces shot at Abdel-Rahman El-Khatib, a
photographer of Al-Ayyam daily local newspaper, wounding him with a
rubber-coated metal bullet in the mouth. This incident took place
while El-Khatib was covering clashes between Palestinian civilians and
the Israeli occupation forces near a military post of the Israeli
occupation forces known as “Al-Nouria,” to the west of the refugee
camp of Khan Yunis. El-Khatib informed PCHR that on Friday, October
20, 2000, while he was photographing clashes between Palestinian
civilians and the Israeli occupation forces near Neve Dekalim
settlement from behind a big stone, he was shot with a rubber-coated
metal bullet in the mouth by the Israeli occupation forces. Following
this, El-Khatib was evacuated to hospital where physicians found an
injury in the upper lip, and a break in the right part of the upper
teeth.
Hammed Eghbareya, director of Sawt Al-Haq Walhorreya (the Voice of
Right and Freedom) in Nazareth, was attacked by Israeli police and
border guards while he was covering clashes between them and Arab
citizens. Israeli troops shot at Mahfouzh Abu Turk, a journalist from
Jerusalem, wounding him with a bullet in the shoulder.
On October 21, 2000:
Jacques-Marie Bourget, a reporter of Paris Match, was wounded with a
live bullet in the left lung shot by the Israeli occupation forces,
while he was covering clashes between these forces and Palestinian
civilians in Ramallah. Bourget was evacuated to Ramallah governmental
hospital in serious condition before being transferred to Paris for
treatment. Thierry Esch, a photographer for the same magazine, who was
behind Bourget, stated to his magazine that there was no doubt that it
was Israeli occupation troops that shot Bourget. Patrick Jarnoux, an
editor of the same magazine, stated to The Toronto Star, that based on
the place where Bourget was, no one could hurt him except those who
were in front of him -- namely, the Israeli occupation troops.
Israeli occupation troops shot at Bruno Stephen, an independent
photographer of the French Liberation and the German Stern, and nearly
wounded him in the throat. This incident took place while Stephen was
covering clashes. During the same clashes, another two journalists
were moderately to seriously wounded. They are: Ibrahim Al-Hosari, of
Watan Television Channel, who was wounded with a bullet in the ear;
and Jamal Aarori, a photographer of Al-Ayyam daily local newspaper,
who was wounded with a rubber-coated metal bullet in the hand.
On October 23, 2000:
The Israeli occupation forces prevented the access of Nasser Shiokhi,
a correspondent and a photographer of Associated Press, to the village
of Al-Sammoua near Hebron. He was attempting to cover clashes taking
place at the time between Palestinian civilians and the Israeli
occupation forces. These forces also confiscated his press identity
card.
On October 24, 2000:
Jewish settlers near the village of Hawwara in Nablus attacked the car
of Abdel-Rahman Khbeisa, a photographer of the Associated Press, with
a huge rock that could easily have killed him. Khbeisa stated that he
was surprised by a huge stone that weighed about 10 kilograms being
thrown at his car from a blue Subaru of Jewish settlers. The front of
his car and the front glass were hit. He miraculously escaped death
as he was driving his car at high speed and the stone was huge. This
incident took place in front of a feed factory at the entrance of the
village of Hawwara, while Khbeisa was on his way to work.
On October 29, 2000:
Israeli occupation troops shot at three journalists who were
travelling by car to Jericho hospital to see patients who were wounded
during clashes between Palestinian civilians and the Israeli
occupation forces in the refugee camp of Aqbat Jaber near Jericho.
They journalists are: 1) Aadel Abu Abu Naeima, a correspondent of
Al-Ayyam daily local newspaper and Reuters; 2) Fathi Brahma, a
correspondent of Sawt Fasteen (Voice of Palestine); and 3) Emad Abu
Sonbol, a correspondent of Al-Hayat Al-Jadida daily local newspaper
and France Press. It is worth mentioning that none of the
above-mentioned journalists were hurt.
On October 31, 2000:
The Israeli occupation forces shot at Ben Wedeman, 41 years old, an
American, and a correspondent of CNN, wounding him with a live bullet
in the right side. He was evacuated to Shifa’ hospital. This
incident took place near Al-Mentar (Karni) Outlet, when Wedeman was
covering clashes between Palestinian demonstrators and the Israeli
occupation forces. Eyewitnesses asserted that Wedeman was wearing a
helmet and a bulletproof vest. They added that the situation in the
area was relatively calm, but it escalated when the Israeli occupation
forces started to shoot intensively and "walk" tank shells in the
direction of Wedeman and other journalists. Wedeman was forced to lie
down to escape the shooting. A few minutes after the shooting
started, and while he was trying to stand up with his back opposite to
the Israeli occupation forces, he was wounded with a live bullet in
the right side, and then was evacuated to Shifa’ hospital.
Two hours earlier, the Israeli occupation forces shot at Sams
Oudetallah, a cameraman of Reuters, but he was not injured. He ran
from the area, leaving his equipment behind.
On the same day, the Israeli occupation forces arrested Suleiman
Al-Shafe’i, a correspondent of Israeli television channel 2, at Erez
Checkpoint, while he was on his way from Gaza to Israel. Soldiers of
the Israeli occupation forces informed Al-Shafe’iy that he was in
violation of the military orders that prohibited Israeli citizens from
entering the occupied Palestinian territories.
On November 9, 2000:
The Israeli occupation forces shot at French journalist Robers
Laubrant, a correspondent of Associated Press, wounding him with a
live bullet in the thigh. He was evacuated to hospital. This
incident took place while Laubrant was covering clashes between
Palestinian civilians and the Israeli occupation forces near Al-Tuffah
roadblock, between Khan Yunis city and Al-Mawasi (agricultural) area,
under the control of the Israeli occupation forces.
On November 11, 2000:
The Israeli occupation forces shot at American journalist Jaula
Monakov, 37 years old, a correspondent of the Associated Press,
wounding her with two live bullets in the pelvis and the bladder.
This incident took place while she was covering clashes between
Palestinian civilians and the Israeli occupation forces in the
vicinity of Bilal Ben Rabah mosque in Bethlehem.
On the same day, the car of journalist Marwan El-Ghoul was shot at for
the second time by the Israeli occupation forces. This incident took
place while El-Ghoul was covering the burning of a civilian car in
which two Palestinian civilians were shot dead by the Israeli
occupation forces near Al-Matahen junction in Al-Qarara. In his
testimony to PCHR, El-Ghoul stated that he immediately went to the
area when he learned about the shooting at a civilian car by the
Israeli occupation forces. He saw Israeli occupation troops using a
robot to inhumanely pull the bodies of two Palestinian civilians from
the car. He added that Palestinian citizens in the area started to
shout “Allah Akbar” (Allah is the greatest) as soon as they saw the
inhumane way in which the Israeli occupation forces were dealing with
the bodies of the Palestinian martyrs. Immediately, the Israeli
occupation forces shot at Palestinian citizens, wounding a number of
them seriously. At that time, El-Ghouls says he tried to reach his car
to leave the area. He was about two meters away from his car when it
was shot at intensively. As a result it was severely damaged.
On the same day, Samir Khalifa, a correspondent of the Palestinian Television, and a staff of accompanying cameramen were evacuated to Shifa’ hospital in Gaza, due to inhaling tear gas used by the Israeli occupation forces in the area where the above-mentioned Palestinian civilians were shot dead. Khalifa and the staff were trapped under fire opened up by the Israeli occupation forces.
On November 16, 2000:
Israeli occupation troops positioned in the vicinity of City Inn in
Ramallah shot at Mohammed Zeid El-Kielani, a cameraman of Arab News
Network (ANN), wounding him with a rubber-coated metal bullet in the
shoulder. This incident took place while El-Kielani was covering
clashes between Palestinian civilians and the Israeli occupation
forces at the entrance of Al-Bireh.
On November 19, 2000:
Mouaffaq Turki Qassem Mattar, 46 years old, a photographer of
Falasteen Al-Yawm (Palestine Today) Press in Ramallah, was wounded
again, with a rubber-coated bullet in the head. This incident took
place while Mattar was covering clashes in Al-Mentar area to the east
of Gaza City, during which the Israeli occupation forces shot dead a
14-year-old Palestinian child and wounded 23 Palestinian civilians,
including Mattar himself.
PCHR condemns such practices by the Israeli occupation forces against local and international journalists. PCHR considers these belligerent actions to be a part of the racist practices of the Israeli occupation forces. PCHR stresses the following:
The basic duty of journalists is to convey facts honestly, objectively and without bias to any party. Achieving this requires the freedom to receive and impart information, without any restrictions that may hinder journalists from carrying out their duty.
Practices of the Israeli occupation forces against journalists of local and international press agencies are part and parcel of the practices of these forces against defenseless Palestinian civilians. The practices have caused the deaths of more than 210 Palestinians, while wounding thousands more.
In light of the above, PCHR stresses that practices of the Israeli occupation forces against local and international journalists aim at terrifying them, so that they will stop imparting information and photos of the crimes committed by these forces against defenseless Palestinian civilians. They aim at imposing media isolation on the occupied Palestinian territories in order to pave the way for the Israeli occupation forces to commit more crimes against defenseless Palestinian civilians. These crimes would be carried out away from the eyes of the world and without journalists being able to document them.
Through these practices, the Israeli occupation forces seek to prevent journalists from documenting their crimes against defenseless Palestinian civilians in order to avoid being condemned by the international community and public opinion.
PCHR is concerned about such practices because of the serious possibility that the Israeli occupation forces might escalate their crimes against defenseless Palestinian civilians in the occupied Palestinian territories. In this context, PCHR reminds the international community of the practices of the Israeli occupation forces in 1982, when these forces isolated the refugee camps of Sabra and Shatila and oversaw a ruthless massacre of the Palestinian people; killing in cold blood and with collaboration from the Lebanese Al-Kataeb more than 3,000 defenseless Palestinian civilians in the two refugee camps.
In light of the above, PCHR calls on the international community, especially the High Contracting Parties to the Fourth Geneva Convention, to immediately intervene to implement UN Security Council Resolution 1322/2000, which calls for establishing an international commission of inquiry to investigate the crimes being committed by the Israeli occupation forces against defenseless Palestinian civilians in the occupied Palestinian territories.
PCHR calls on the High Contracting Parties to the Fourth Geneva Convention to meet their obligations under the Convention and immediately provide international protection for the Palestinian people in order to prevent crimes that could be committed by the Israeli occupation forces against defenseless Palestinian civilians.