(CPJ/IFEX) – Reuters has reported that on 10 April 1998 Palestinian authorities closed down its Gaza office in response to a videotape it distributed to the media containing a statement made by an alleged member of the Islamic Resistance Movement (HAMAS). On 8 April, Reuters had broadcast and distributed to the media a videotape of […]
(CPJ/IFEX) – Reuters has reported that on 10 April 1998 Palestinian
authorities closed down its Gaza office in response to a videotape it
distributed to the media containing a statement made by an alleged member of
the Islamic Resistance Movement (HAMAS). On 8 April, Reuters had broadcast
and distributed to the media a videotape of a man identifying himself as
Adel Awadallah who accused Palestinian security officials (including Jibril
Rajoub, chief of preventive security) of being complicit in the killing of
Hamas associate Muhyideen al-Sharif. Sharif was found dead on 29 March 1998
next to an exploded car in the West Bank town of Ramallah. Reuters quoted
Palestinian police chief Ghazi Jebali as describing the incident as a
“temporary closure until the issues are verified and clarified by the senior
officials in Reuters and after they take all the measures against whoever of
their representatives is biased.” According to the news agency, Jebali said
that authorities had closed the office because it had “issued news that
provoked sedition in the Palestinian state.”
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