Status of Freedom of Speech and Press
The PA Basic Law provides every person the right to freedom of thought,
conscience, and expression, orally, in writing, or through any other form. The
PA does not have laws specifically providing for freedom of press; however, PA
institutions applied aspects of an unratified 1995 press law as de facto law. In
practice, PA security forces in the West Bank and members of the Hamas security
apparatus in the Gaza Strip continued to restrict freedom of speech and press.
HRW reported that since 2007 most abuses against journalists in both the West
Bank and Gaza were related to tensions between the PA and Hamas. The PA military
judiciary detained civilian journalists, according to human rights
organizations.
Israeli authorities placed limits on certain forms of expression in the
occupied territories.
Freedom of Speech: Although there is no PA law prohibiting criticism
of the government, there were reports that the government was not fully tolerant
of criticism. HRW reported in February that the PA repeatedly responded to
peaceful demonstrations with violent attacks (see section 2.b., Freedom of
Assembly).
In the Gaza Strip, individuals publicly criticizing authorities risked
reprisal by Hamas, including arrest, interrogation, seizure of property, and
harassment. Civil society and youth activists, social media advocates, and
individuals associated with political factions accused of criticizing Hamas in
public fora such as the Internet faced punitive measures including raids on
their facilities and residences, arbitrary detentions, and denial of permission
to travel outside of Gaza. The ICHR reported numerous detentions of protesters
in the Gaza Strip. For example, the ICHR reported at least 16 arrests of
protesters in March alone and numerous instances in which Hamas quelled rallies
and protests with violence.
In East Jerusalem, under Israeli authority, displays of Palestinian political
symbols were punishable by fines or imprisonment, as were public expressions of
anti-Israeli sentiment and support for terrorist groups. Israeli security
officials regularly shut down meetings or conferences held in East Jerusalem
affiliated with the PA or with PA officials in attendance. For example, the ISA
warned organizers of a Palestinian agricultural trade show in East Jerusalem in
September that they would face closure if they invited PA officials or displayed
a Palestinian flag. In September Israeli police ordered shut a meeting in East
Jerusalem on Israeli changes to Palestinian school curricula, and Israeli
security officers questioned the organizers about their involvement in the
meeting.
Freedom of Press: Across the occupied territories, independent media
operated with some restrictions.
In the West Bank, the PA placed some restrictions on independent media as
well as official media. The PA maintained a distribution ban in the West Bank on
the twice-weekly pro-Hamas al-Risala and the Filistin daily
newspapers, both Gaza-based publications. Hamas’s al-Aqsa TV reportedly enjoyed
some degree of access to work in the West Bank without harassment.
In the Gaza Strip, Hamas restricted independent media, especially for
non-Hamas-affiliated press and media outlets. Israel restricted the mainstream
pro-PA dailies, independent al-Quds (based in Jerusalem), independent
pro-Fatah al-Ayyam, and PA official daily al-Hayat al-Jadida (the
latter two based in the West Bank), from importation into the Gaza Strip. Hamas
authorities tolerated reporting and interviews featuring officials from the PA
to be locally broadcast. Hamas allowed, with some restrictions, the operation of
non-Hamas-affiliated broadcast media in the Gaza Strip. The PA-supported
Palestine TV reportedly enjoyed access to operate in the Gaza Strip.
In East Jerusalem independent media were able to operate. As a general rule,
Israeli media were able to cover the occupied territories, except for combat
zones where the IDF temporarily restricted access, but closures, curfews, and
checkpoints limited the ability of Palestinian and foreign journalists to do
their jobs (see section 2.d.). Israel revoked the press credentials of the
majority of Palestinian journalists during the Second Intifada in 2000, with the
exception of a few Palestinian journalists who worked as stringers for prominent
international media outlets. As a result most Palestinian journalists were
unable to cover stories outside the Palestinian-controlled areas of the West
Bank.
Violence and Harassment: PA security forces reportedly harassed,
detained occasionally with violence, and fined journalists several times during
the year due to their reporting. HRW reported in April that the PA Preventative
Security and General Intelligence services intimidated, detained, and assaulted
journalists with impunity, including through detentions of civilian journalists
by the military judiciary.
According to the Palestinian Center for Development and Media Freedoms
(MADA), PA police officers prevented Ibtihal Mansour, a reporter for al-Sharq
al-Awsat Studies Center, from covering a sit-in against PA political arrests in
Nablus on June 13. Mansour stated that, although she adhered to orders, two
female officers in civilian clothes beat her up and tried to confiscate her
camera and cell phone. She was released after the intervention of members of the
public and other journalists.
PA security services summoned and questioned several journalists in the West
Bank. For example, on September 10, the Palestinian intelligence services in
Bethlehem summoned al-Aqsa TV cameraman Osayd Amarneh, whom they questioned
about filming a protest and later released.
In the Gaza Strip, journalists faced arrest, harassment, and other pressure
from Hamas due to their reporting. There were reports that Hamas also summoned
journalists for questioning in an attempt to intimidate them. Hamas also
constrained journalists’ freedom of movement during the year, attempting to ban
access to some official buildings, as well as several prodemocracy protests.
During coverage of popular intra-Palestinian reconciliation protests on March
19 in Gaza City, Hamas internal security forces forcibly entered the Gaza City
offices of CNN, NHK (Japan’s public broadcasting service), and Reuters,
assaulted several journalists, seized equipment, and demanded that the
journalists stop filming the protests.
According to MADA, on August 17, Hamas security personnel prevented Wisam
Zu’bur, a photographer for al-Hurriya Media Center, from taking pictures near
al-Rimal neighborhood in Gaza City.
There were reports during the year of Israeli authorities detaining or
assaulting journalists due to their reporting or coverage. In various incidents
Israeli forces subsequently raided those journalists’ homes.
For example, on August 19, Israeli forces reportedly assaulted Al Jazeera
cameraman Nabeel Mizawi and correspondent Shireen Abu Akleh while the two were
covering Friday prayers at al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem’s Old City. In a live
report on Al Jazeera, Abu Akleh claimed that IDF personnel beat Mizawi and
ordered them to stop filming. According to the report, IDF personnel also cut a
voice cable to mute the broadcast.
Local media reported that on November 22, Israeli authorities arrested Israa
Salhab, a reporter for al-Quds satellite station, after she anchored a program
on Palestinian prisoners. She was released on November 28 and never faced
official charges.
Censorship or Content Restrictions: The PA prohibits calls for
violence, displays of arms, and racist slogans in PA-funded and controlled
official media. Media throughout the occupied territories practiced
self-censorship. There were no confirmed reports of any legal actions or
prosecutions against any person publishing items counter to these PA
guidelines.
Civil society organizations reported that Hamas censored television programs
and written content, such as newspapers and books. On January 23, according to
HRW, Hamas police officers entered three bookstores in Gaza and confiscated
copies of two novels--Haidar Haidar’s A Banquet for Seaweed and Alaa’
al-Aswany’s Chicago--and searched for copies of a third book,
Forbidden Pleasure, telling the store owners that the books were seized
because the Hamas ministry of interior “deemed them “against sharia” (Islamic
law).
There were no reports that the Israeli government monitored the media in the
occupied territories. Israeli authorities retain the right to review and approve
in advance of printing all Jerusalem-based Arabic publications for material
perceived as a security threat. In practice anecdotal evidence suggested the
Israeli authorities did not actively review the Jerusalem-based al-Quds
newspaper or other Jerusalem-based Arabic publications. Jerusalem-based
publications reported that, based on previous experiences with Israeli
censorship, over time they came to know what is acceptable and self-censored
publications accordingly.
Libel Laws/National Security: There were instances in which slander
and libel laws were used to suppress criticism. For example, on August 16, the
PA attorney general banned the annual Palestinian Broadcasting Corporation’s
Palestine TV Ramadan comedy program series, Watan ala Watar, in its third
season, after PA security forces, representatives of the PA Ministry of Health,
and the union of PA employees filed complaints claiming the program slandered
members of their respective professions. On August 18, the PA attorney general
issued final orders sanctioning the forcible suspension of the program.
There were no known reports that Hamas used security justifications or
slander or libel laws to censure public critique.
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