(CPJ/IFEX) – The following is a 2 April 2002 CPJ press release: PRESS CRISIS WORSENS IN THE OCCUPIED TERRITORIES New York, April 2, 2002-The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) today reiterated its alarm at mounting press restrictions and attacks on reporters in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. In a letter sent today to Israeli prime minister […]
(CPJ/IFEX) – The following is a 2 April 2002 CPJ press release:
PRESS CRISIS WORSENS IN THE OCCUPIED TERRITORIES
New York, April 2, 2002-The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) today reiterated its alarm at mounting press restrictions and attacks on reporters in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. In a letter sent today to Israeli prime minister Ariel Sharon, CPJ protested the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) declaration that the West Bank towns of Bethlehem and Qalqiliya are “closed military areas” and therefore off-limits to the press.
The West Bank city of Ramallah was declared off-limits to the press on Friday. While the ban in Ramallah has been sporadically enforced, several journalists have been prevented from entering the city or from moving freely within the city.
In the letter, CPJ also strongly protested ongoing incidents in which IDF forces have opened fire on, or in the direction of, journalists attempting to cover events in the West Bank. “These incidents increasingly appear as attempts by the IDF to intimidate the press from covering the IDF’s widening military campaign in the territories,” the letter said.
In a shocking incident yesterday, NBC correspondent Dana Lewis and his two-person camera crew came under IDF fire in Ramallah at dusk while driving in an armored car that was clearly identified as a press vehicle. After an initial burst of gunfire hit the car, a lone IDF soldier opened fire with a second burst from a range of about 50 to 100 feet (15 to 30 meters).
The journalists then stopped the car, turned on an interior light to make themselves visible, and placed their hands on the windshield. After 15 to 20 seconds, the soldier fired a third burst, hitting the windshield. The NBC crew escaped by driving away in reverse.
In other recent developments:
* On April 1, BBC reporter Orla Guerin and her television crew came under Israeli fire while covering peaceful protesters walking through the streets of Bethlehem. Video footage of the incident shows the camera panning on the demonstrators and then focusing on a tank, which then fires machine gun rounds at the camera. The crew took cover behind a car that was clearly marked press. No one was injured in the attack.
* On April 2, Gamma agency photographer Atta Oweisat was detained by Israeli troops in Ramallah and held for nearly six hours. He and other journalists were ordered out of their car and forced to take off their flak jackets and put their personal possessions on the ground. The troops detained Oweisat when they found that his press card had expired. He was blindfolded and handcuffed during his detention.
* In Bethlehem on April 2, an Israeli soldier fired one round toward the car of Reuters photographer Magnus Johansson, which was clearly identified as a press vehicle. Johansson heard soldiers shouting at him. When he got out of the car, he was ordered back in. The shot was fired as he attempted to drive away.
* In Bethlehem on April 1, Palestinian militants threatened journalists working for The Associated Press, Reuters, and Palestine TV and forced them to hand over footage, shot the night before, of the body of an alleged Palestinian collaborator who had been shot in a parking lot. A copy of the letter to Prime Minister Sharon follows.
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April 2, 2002
His Excellency Ariel Sharon
Prime Minister of the State of Israel
Office of the Prime Minister
3 Kaplan Street, PO Box 187
Kiryat Ben-Gurion
Jerusalem 91919
Via facsimile: 972-2-651-2631
Your Excellency:
The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is writing to express its alarm at official Israeli attempts to restrict media coverage in the West Bank, as well as several incidents in which Israeli troops have fired on working journalists.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) spokesman confirmed today that the IDF had declared the West Bank towns of Bethlehem and Qalqiliya “closed military areas” and therefore off-limits to the press. This action comes four days after a similar order was issued for the West Bank city of Ramallah. While the ban in Ramallah has been sporadically enforced since Friday, several journalists have been prevented from entering the city or from moving freely within it.
Today, Israeli authorities revoked the press credentials of two Abu Dhabi TV reporters, locally based correspondent Layla Odeh and visiting correspondent Bassam Azawi, and threatened legal action against CNN and NBC for broadcasting from Ramallah in defiance of military orders, The Associated Press reported.
While we recognize the potential dangers involved in covering the current crisis in the Occupied Territories, it is the duty of journalists to report on the crisis and the obligation of the Israeli government to let them work freely. Attempting to prevent journalists from witnessing events on the ground is a flagrant act of censorship.
CPJ also protests in the strongest terms several recent incidents in which IDF forces have opened fire on, or in the direction of, journalists attempting to cover events in the West Bank. These incidents increasingly appear as attempts by the IDF to intimidate the press from covering the IDF’s widening military campaign in the territories.
In a shocking incident yesterday, NBC correspondent Dana Lewis and his two-person camera crew came under IDF fire in Ramallah at dusk while driving in an armored car that was clearly identified as a press vehicle. After an initial burst of gunfire hit the car, a lone IDF soldier opened fire with a second burst from a range of about 50 to100 feet (15 to 30 meters).
The journalists then stopped the car, turned on an interior light to make themselves visible, and placed their hands on the windshield. After 15 to 20 seconds, the soldier fired a third burst, hitting the windshield. The NBC crew escaped by driving away in reverse.
During the last week, two other journalists, Boston Globe reporter Anthony Shadid and Palestinian cameraman Carlos Handal, who works for Egyptian Nile TV and Abu Dhabi TV, have been wounded by unidentified gunfire in areas controlled by Israeli forces.
We condemn these attacks on the press and urge you to ensure that IDF forces halt them immediately. We further urge you to ensure that the restrictions now in place on journalists in the West Bank are lifted and that Israeli forces allow the press to report the news without further hindrance.
Sincerely,
Ann Cooper
Executive Director
CC:
American Society of Newspaper Editors
Amnesty International
Article 19 (United Kingdom)
Artikel 19 (The Netherlands)
Canadian Journalists for Free Expression
Freedom Forum
Freedom House
Human Rights Watch
Index on Censorship
International Center for Journalists
International Federation of Journalists
International PEN
International Press Institute
Lorne W. Craner, United States Assistant Secretary for Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor
National Press Club
The Newspaper Guild
The North American Broadcasters Association
Overseas Press Club
Reporters sans frontières
Mary Robinson, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights
The Society of Professional Journalists
World Association of Newspapers
World Press Freedom Committee
Recommended Action
Similar appeals can be sent to:
His Excellency Ariel Sharon
Prime Minister of the State of Israel
Office of the Prime Minister
3 Kaplan Street, PO Box 187
Kiryat Ben-Gurion
Jerusalem 91919
Fax: +972 2 651 2631
Please copy appeals to the source if possible.
