(photo: Issam Al-Rimawi, photographer of the AFP after being injured by a rubber-coated bullet in Ras Karkar, PNN)
September of 2018 has witnessed a rise in the number of violations committed against media freedoms in Palestine, compared to those committed in the previous month of August. During September, the Palestinian Center for Development & Media Freedoms “MADA” has monitored a total of 48 attacks committed against media freedoms in Palestine, 39 of which were committed by the Israeli Occupation while various Palestinian authorities in the West Bank and Gaza Strip have committed a total of six violations. It should be noted that the preceding month, August has registered 46 attacks.
The Israeli occupation has committed most of the attacks against media freedoms registered in September totaled to 39 attacks, while various Palestinian authorities in the West Bank and Gaza Strip have committed a total of nine attacks.
Most of the attacks over September, especially those committed by the Israeli occupation, were registered as the most serious attacks against the lives of journalists and media freedoms.
The Israeli Violations:
During September 2018, Israeli forces have committed 39 attacks against media freedoms in Palestine, which is a greater number of Israeli attacks compared to those committed during August (totaled to 35 attacks). It should be noted that most of the Israeli violations during both months fall under the serious physical attacks against the lives and jobs of journalists.
Israeli occupation attacks registered during September were distributed to 24 attacks committed by the occupation authorities and forces in the West Bank, and fifteen attacks committed in Gaza Strip.
Most of the 39 Israeli attacks fall under the extremely serious types of attacks. It is worthy to mention that 25 of these attacks were mostly physical injuries inflicted upon both female and male journalists while they covered field events in the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip; sixteen of these injuries were caused by live, explosive, and rubber bullets, as well as gas bombs fired directly at the bodies of the journalists.
Notable among the Israeli attacks monitored and documented during September was the injury of the photographer of Safad Press, Mahmoud Mohammad Saed Shata, by a gunshot (causing an entry and exit) while he was covering a demonstration close to the separating fence to the east of Gaza Strip; the injury of the photojournalist of Al-Manara Agency, Attia Nassir Ahmad Hijazi, by a gunshot above the knee (causing an entry and exit) which lodged fragments in his knee, while he was covering a demonstration taking place at Zikim Beach to the northwest of Beit Lahia in Gaza Strip; the injury of the freelance photographer, Bilal Loay Abdelaziz Alabadsa, by a gunshot in his right foot and a fragment in his left foot while he was covering a demonstration taking place as part of the peaceful return marches at Khuza’a to the east of Khan Younes; the injury of the Chinese News Agency photographer, Nidal Shafeq Taher Ishtaya, by a rubber bullet deliberately fired at him by the occupation soldiers while he was covering the weekly demonstration protesting against the settlements activities in Kafr Qaddum in the West Bank; the injury of Sawt Al-Ribat Radio photographer, Mazin Sulaiman Mahmoud Qudaih, by a gunshot in the palm of his hand while he was covering a demonstration taking place in Abasan Al-Kabira, east of Khan Younes in Gaza Strip; the injury of the photographer, Thaer Khalid Fahmi Abu Rayash, by a gas bomb in his head, fired by one of the occupation soldiers while he was covering a demonstration taking place to the east of Gaza Strip; the injury of the photographer and reporter of the Iranian TV, Khalid Ali Sabarna, by a rubber-coated metal bullet in his right leg while he was covering a demonstration protesting against the settlement activities at Al-Risan Mountain in the villages located to the west of Ramallah in the West Bank; the injury of the photographer of Shamal Online Network and Al-Aqsa TV Facebook Page, Anas Jamal Mahmoud Al-Sharif, by a fragment of an explosive bullet in his abdomen while he was covering events east of Jabalia; the injury of the photographer of Nour News Network and Palestine Breaking News Network (two local platforms on the social media), Akram Ramadan Anas Shaber, by a gunshot in his left foot; the injury of the volunteering photographer of Al-Risala Newspaper in Gaza, Ismail Maher Khamees Al-Ghoul, by gunshot fragments in his right hand fingers, while he was covering a demonstration as part of the peaceful return marches taking place to the east of Gaza Strip; the injury of the videographer of Anatolia Turkish Agency, Montaser Mustafa Husni Al-Sawaf, by a gas bomb in his left foot while he was covering a demonstration to the east of Gaza Strip; the injury of the freelance photographer, Mahmoud Fawzi Abdelghani, by two rubber bullets below the knee and on the face (below his eye); the injury of An-Najah TV photographer, Omair Jamal Lutfi Istaita, by rubber bullets in the left thigh while they were covering the clashes triggered due to invading Balata Camp in Nablus by the occupation soldiers and the settlers; the injury of Al-Hayat Al-Jadida Newspaper and Anatolia Agency photographer, Issam Huda Al-Rimawi, by metal gunshot in his right leg (below the knee); the injury of the French Press Agency AFP, Abbas Abdelwahab Al-Momani, by metal bullet in his left leg, while they both were covering a demonstration against settlement activities at Al-Risan Mountain in the villages located to the west of Ramallah in the West Bank; the injury of the photojournalist, Mueen Tayseer Al-Dabba, by a fragment of an explosive bullet in his shoulder, while he was covering the demonstration taking place in Malka east of Gaza Strip; the injury of Reuters Agency photographer, Mohammad Turkman, by a rubber-coated metal bullet in his leg while he was covering the invasion by one of the occupation army forces to Batn Al-Hawa area in Ramallah under the jurisdiction of the Palestinian Authority; the injury of the photographer, Hanin Mahmoud Salman Baroud, by a gas bomb in her head fired directly at her while she was covering events taking place to the east of Gaza Strip, which caused her wounds stitched with eight stitches; this all in addition to the detention of the author and blogger Isra Khader Ahmad from her house, located in Souref in the West Bank.
The Palestinian Violations:
The number of Palestinian violations has dropped slightly from eleven attacks committed during August to nine committed during September. Three of which were committed in Gaza Strip while nine in the West Bank. These attacks included: issuing subpoenas by the Public Prosecution Office in Khan Younes, Gaza Strip, against three Palestine TV staff members — namely: the Director of Palestine TV in Gaza Strip, Rafat Hammad Abdelmajeed Al-Qidra, the producer, Yousef Mohammad Ahmad Abu Maghsib, and the journalist, Momen Al-Shobaki — to complete their investigation against the backdrop of broadcasting a report on 22ndAugust 2018 about a child named Mohammad Abu Anza from Absan, who was extremely beaten by some of Hamas members in Gaza Strip; the arrest of the television presenter of Marah Radio in Hebron and the reporter of the British Newspaper “Arab Weekly”, Mohammad Saed Khalil Jahaysha, in front of his house, by Palestinian intelligence officers; as well as the arrest of the journalist of Al-Hadath Newspaper, Musab Abdelsamad Shawer Al-Tamimi, (27 years old), from Hebron, after being summoned via phone; invading the headquarters of the photographic studio of the freelance photographer, Nidal Mahmoud Al-Natsheh in Hebron by a force of the Palestinian Intelligence Services; and the summoning of freelance journalist, Musab Khamees Qufaisha, by Palestinian Intelligence Services, to force him to shut down and delete a newsgroup; this in addition to summoning journalist Thaer Ziad Al-Fakhouri, by the Palestinian Intelligence Services, and questioning him.
Search IMEMC: “MADA”
