05 Oct 11 | Index Index, Middle East and North Africa, minipost
Hamas’s interior ministry has adopted new rules restricting the reporting of foreign journalistse. According to the new rules, foreign journalists would have to apply to Gaza’s interior ministry in advance, and processing “could take several days”. The application process also requires foreign journalists to name a “guarantor” in the Gaza strip. According to government officials, the news regulations are necessary for “security and control purposes.”
11 Jul 11 | Index Index, Middle East and North Africa, minipost, News and features
The office of Ma’an Network, a news agency based in Gaza City, was attacked by masked assailants. According to local reports, staff at the main office saw the building on fire in the early hours of Sunday morning. After initial investigations, bottles of flammable liquids were found nearby. The Palestinian Journalists Syndicate is calling for a full investigation.
30 Jun 11 | Index Index, minipost
The Gaza Strip correspondent for France 24, Salama Atallah, has claimed that he was interrogated by Hamas security officials on 26 June. According to Atallah, threats, insults and beatings were used in an attempt to obtain further information about a Salafist group he had been reporting on in Gaza. Prior to this, Atallah had been questioned three times in the month of June and he has recently announced that he will undergo a fifth interrogation on 30 June.
13 Jul 10 | Index Index, minipost
The Palestinian authorities have prevented three newspapers from being distributed in Gaza territories for the second day in a row. The ban comes only days after the Israeli authorities lifted their own year and a half ban on the papers. The Palestinian Center for Development and Media Freedoms (MADA) quoted Palestinian sources as saying that the authorities require daily newspapers printed in the West Bank to agree not to print anything critical of Hamas. The newspapers are still waiting for an official announcement as to why they have been banned. MADA strongly condemned the action and demanded that the authorities allow all journalists to work freely in the area.
