Palestinian journalists boycott Hamas

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Nov. 2, 2002

By KHALED ABU TOAMEH

The Palestinian Journalists' Syndicate in the West Bank and Gaza Strip has decided on a boycott of Hamas following an attack on journalists who were covering a bomb explosion in Gaza City Thursday.

Three Hamas members were killed in the explosion in the Sabra neighborhood when a bomb they were apparently preparing exploded prematurely.

A large number of Hamas activists and supporters attacked the journalists who arrived at the scene, beating them and destroying their cameras. The attackers accused the journalists of collaboration with Israel and threatened to shoot them.

A statement issued by the syndicate said the attack took place in the presence of senior Hamas officials who showed up at the scene of the explosion. The bodyguard of Dr. Mahmoud Zahar, a top Hamas leader, threatened the cameramen, cocked his automatic rifle, and forced them to hand over their videotapes.

The statement said the journalists belonged to the Associated Press, Reuters, Agence France Press, and Palestine TV. Some of them were stoned and roughed up by angry Hamas activists.

"We hold Hamas fully responsible for the assault on the journalists and for seriously jeopardizing their lives," said the strongly worded statement.

"We demand an open and public apology from Hamas for this attack." The statement called on journalists to boycott Hamas until further notice.

In response, local journalists stayed away from the funeral of the three Hamas men who died in the explosion. Also, the journalists decided to boycott Hamas spokesmen and leaders.

The head of the syndicate, Naim Tubasi, said a number of journalists were hospitalized with fractures and broken hips.

Saturday, Hamas issued a statement denouncing the attack on the newsmen, describing the incident as an "unfortunate event."

It said Hamas "highly appreciates the Palestinian journalists and their role in relaying the suffering of the Palestinian people to the world."

In a separate development, the director of the programs department in the PA's Voice of Palestine radio station called for punishing journalists who are not sympathetic to the Palestinian cause and whose reporting distorts the image of the Palestinian people.

Yusef al-Kazaz, who is also a senior official at the ministry of information, said: "The ministry of information and culture should follow the work of journalists who seek to harm our homeland, our people, and our national program. These journalists are exploiting the free access we give them to spread their hatred and viciousness against our people," he explained.

Kazaz said he was particularly furious with three correspondents of the Arab satellite station, al-Jazeera - Walid al-Omari, Shirin Abu Akleh, and Jivarah Budairi.

He noted that one correspondent rushed to report that a Palestinian faction was behind the September 11 attacks in New York and Washington, while another claimed that Palestinians were handing out sweets when they heard the news.

In another case, one of them reported on the damage to luxurious vehicles in Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat's compound during the IDF siege, without making any reference to the suffering of those holed up inside the Mukata.

Kazaz said such "malicious" journalists should not be permitted to operate freely in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, and called on the PA to impose restrictions on their work.

-- Anonymous, November 02, 2002


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