129 Violations against Media Freedoms in Palestine during August

In its monthly report on the state of press freedoms in August 2022, the Committee to Support Journalists monitored more than 119 violations against media freedoms and journalists, including 66 Israeli violations and 7 violations by internal Palestinian parties in the West Bank.

The committee also monitored more than 56 cases of violations by social media companies, as part of its fight against Palestinian content that expose the crimes of the occupation against the Palestinian people.

The Israeli occupation forces committed more than 66 violations against media freedoms and press crews. They arrested 4 journalists: Nidal Abu Aker, Mahmoud Abu Al-Hassan, Ibrahim Abu Safiya and Dina Jaradat, all of whom are still detained.

The Israeli occupation forces also detained 5 journalists: Muhammad Asho, Ahmed Al-Garabli, Raja'i Al-Khatib and Ayman Qawariq.

As for the renewal of administrative detention and the postponement of trials, the report recorded 10 cases, where the administrative detention of journalist Muhammad Nimr Asida was confirmed for a period of four months, and a decision was issued for the administrative detention of: Amer Abu Arafa, for a period of four months, Faisal Al-Rifai, for a period of six months, and Nidal Abu Akar, for five months. The trial of Ramez Sadaqah was also postponed, and then a decision was issued for his actual imprisonment for a period of ten months. In addition, the detention of media student Dina Jaradat has been extended 5 consecutive times.

As for targeting journalists, the report documented attacks on more than 13 journalists and media workers using bullets, tear gas, sound bombs, pepper gas, beating with sticks and rifle butts. Journalist Fadi Yassin was targeted with rubber bullets, journalist Alaa Badarneh was targeted with metal bullets, and photographer Muhammad al-Sharif was dragged and hit on the head. In addition, Ahmed Al-Gharabli and Muhammad Asho were deported from Jerusalem for five days. In the Gaza Strip, journalist Nahid Abu Harbid sustained injuries and bruises in her left leg as a result of the Israeli warplanes' bombing of her home during the Israeli las aggression on the strip.

The report also recorded that the Israeli occupation snipers fired three bullets at the headquarters of "Shabab FM" radio station in the city of Nablus during its coverage of the Israeli aggression on the old city, in direct targeting of the radio workers to intimidate them and threaten them to stop the radio broadcast.

More than 13 cases were recorded in which the Israeli occupation forces and settlers obstructed the work of journalists during their work in covering the Israeli attacks against Palestinian citizens and their homes, including preventing journalists from entering Gaza to cover the Israeli aggression, preventing journalists from entering the court session of the prisoner Nael Barghouti, preventing journalists from covering the Israeli occupation forces' ban on Palestinian teachers and students from approaching their schools in Masafer Yatta village, south of Hebron in the occupied West Bank.

A case of travel ban was recorded against journalist Ayman Qawariq, who was prevented from traveling through the Karama crossing and detained for four hours between Jordan and the West Bank, without explaining the reason for the ban.

As for the incursions and the destruction of citizens' property, the Israeli occupation forces raided 3 houses owned by journalists: Nidal Abu Aker, Dina Jaradat and Mahmoud Abu Al-Hassan. They also vandalized and broke the furniture of them. The Israeli occupation forces also stormed the farm of journalist Yousry Al-Jamal and seized all of its property.

The report recorded 12 cases of damage to media institutions and equipment in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, where 10 institutions were damaged as a result of the occupation's bombing of the Palestine tower during its recent aggression on the Gaza Strip, while the press equipment of the photographer Ghassan Abu Eid in occupied Jerusalem was destroyed.

As for the media professionals imprisoned in the Israeli occupation prisons, the Israeli occupation prevented the media student, Dina Jaradat, from taking her medication, which negatively affected her health, and imposed a fine of 3000 shekels on journalist Ramez Sadaqa before he was sentenced to 10 years in prison.

 

Fighting Palestinian content on social media

As for electronic violations against Palestinian content, the administrations of social media sites and the Israeli occupation launched a digital campaign against the Palestinian narrative. Dozens of accounts of Palestinian journalists and activists were restricted because of their journalistic work in covering the Israeli attacks in the city of Nablus. Instagram and Facebook also deleted any post that contains names, photos, videos of the martyrs and their families.

Facebook deleted 45 accounts of journalists and news sites for publishing the Palestinian narrative, Instagram deleted 5 accounts, WhatsApp deleted 4 accounts, and Tik Tok deleted one account.

The New York Times has ended its relationship with photographer Fadi Hannouna, a Palestinian freelance journalist working in the Gaza Strip, after he was accused of anti-Semitism and advocating violence against Jews in social media posts.