Reporters Without Borders Annual Report 2002 - Israel

Since September 2000, 45 cases of journalists injured by bullets have been recorded by Reporters Without Borders. In December 2001 the Israeli defence ministry publicised the conclusions of its inquiries. In most cases these superficial and partial conclusions deny all responsibility of Tsahal. Palestinian journalists, the majority of those injured, have experienced more and more problems in moving about between the different territories.

The 15 months of violence between the Israeli army and Palestinians have had heavy casualties: over 1,000 people killed (about 800 on the Palestinian side and 200 on the Israeli side). The end of the year was marked by escalating violence with suicide attacks by the Hamas and the Islamic Jihad and retaliation by Tsahal (the Israeli army) in Palestinian towns.

In this context journalists work in difficult conditions. Since the start of the second Intifada on 29 September 2000, 45 cases of journalists injured by bullets have been recorded by Reporters Without Borders. Some were seriously wounded. In most cases RSF imputed responsibility to the Israeli army and asked it to expedite its inquiries. In mid-December 2001, 15 months after the first clashes, the Israeli defence ministry made the results of its inquiries public. Only nine cases of journalists were mentioned in the document which exonerated Tsahal in all cases but one.

Palestinian journalists, the majority of those injured, have also experienced more and more problems when moving about between the different territories. At the end of the year the Israeli authorities considered not renewing the press cards of Palestinian correspondents of the foreign press.

At the same time, Tel-Aviv publicised its project to create an Arabic television channel to counter the "propaganda" of Arabic and especially Palestinian media.

During the year a section of the Israeli press, usually known for its professionalism and independence, sometimes acted as a mouthpiece for the army and adopted the same vocabulary as that used by Tsahal.

Eight journalists injured by bullets

On 9 February 2001 a photographer for the agency Gamma, Laurent van der Stockt, and a colleague with Reuters were covering demonstrations by Palestinian youths in Ramallah. The photographer was standing at about 50 metres from Israeli soldiers when a real bullet hit him in the knee. The demonstration had started after Friday prayers. The Palestinian youths had gone towards an Israeli roadblock near a Jewish settlement and thrown stones at the soldiers who retaliated with rubber bullets and teargas. The photographer was taken to a hospital in Jerusalem and then repatriated to France. He was bedridden for three months and suffers from serious after-effects.

On the same day and in the same place Rebhi Ahmad Mohammed al-Kobari, Palestinian cameraman with the Palestinian television channel al-Sharq in Ramallah, was injured in the left knee by shrapnel after the Israeli army opened fire on demonstrators. The journalist was carrying his video camera and wearing a cap clearly marked "TV".

Ahmed Zaki, Palestinian correspondent for Oman Satellite Television, was hit in the knee by an unidentified projectile while covering clashes on 23 March at the entrance to Ramallah.

Zakaria Abu Harbeid, journalist with the local news agency Ramatan, was injured on 14 April at Khan Younis, in Gaza, while taking photos of Israeli soldiers shooting at Palestinians. The journalist was hit in the hand and had to be hospitalised for several days.

On 20 April Laila Odeh, Jerusalem correspondent for the United Arab Emirates channel Abou Dhabi TV, was interviewing people in the Rafah area whose homes had been destroyed by Israeli raids in Gaza a few days earlier. As the journalist and her crew were about to leave, Israeli soldiers shot in their direction. Laila Odeh was hit in the thigh by a real bullet and immediately taken to Rafah hospital before being transferred to Al Shifa hospital in Gaza. According to her, the soldiers deliberately aimed at her. In the report put out on 18 December by the Israeli army, an "action inquiry" could be decided on, if necessary.

Bertrand Aguirre, correspondent for the French channel TF1, was injured on 15 May while covering clashes in Ramallah between the Israeli army and Palestinian demonstrators. A bullet hit the journalist's bullet-proof jacket, causing bruising. The journalist was taken to Ramallah hospital for an examination. "I can't say whether the border guard aimed directly at me as a journalist, or even if he aimed at me personally. What is clear, however, is that he opened fire at a short distance, with real bullets, firing at body height, when his own safety was not threatened in any way whatsoever", the journalist told Reporters Without Borders. In September he was informed that the inquiry had been closed. To justify this decision, Eran Shangar, director of the police internal affairs bureau, explained: "After examining the file, I decided not to prosecute the policeman for lack of evidence". Yet three different television teams simultaneously filmed the scene. The films clearly show an Israeli border guard get out of his vehicle, calmly take aim and, with his cigarette between his lips, open fire with real bullets at human height, at a distance of about 100 metres.

On 15 June a Japanese freelance journalist was hit in the hand by shrapnel after Israeli soldiers had fired shots during clashes at the entrance to Ramallah.

Lu'ay Abu-Haikal was hit by a rubber-covered metal bullet on 6 July while covering clashes between Israeli troops and Palestinian demonstrators in Hebron. He was treated at Hebron hospital.

Six journalists arrested

Israeli soldiers arrested four journalists from the Palestinian public-sector channel Palestinian Broadcasting Corporation (PBC) – Ruba Al-Najar, journalist, Jaghoub Jaghoub, cameraman, Bilal Aburish, production assistant, and Samir Abid Rabbo, sound engineer – on 24 April 2001 while they were doing a report in Nablus on the West Bank. An army officer accused them of filming Israeli military positions and vehicles. After taking the journalists to the Karne Shermon colony, soldiers blindfolded them and their driver, Hussein Al Gharnaoui, then interrogated them. They also searched them and viewed their video tapes. After eight hours of detention Ruba Al-Najar, Jaghoub Jaghoub, Bilal Aburish and Samir Abid Rabbo were released. Their driver was kept in detention on the pretext that he was involved in "hostile activities".

During clashes on Temple Mount on 29 July, Ahmed Husseini Siam, who works for CBS, was arrested by police who also confiscated a video tape.

Freelance journalist Maurizio Giuliano was arrested on 30 October at an Israeli roadblock when crossing Allenby Bridge between Jordan and the Occupied Territories. He was manhandled by a policeman. He was then also detained for a few hours on the Jordanian side.

Fourteen journalists attacked

On 10 May 2001 Hossam Abou Alan, photographer for Agence France-Presse, Mazen Dana, cameraman with Reuters, and Nael Shiyoukhi, sound engineer for Reuters, were covering the Jewish carnival in Hebron when they were set on by Jewish settlers.

During clashes on Temple Mount on 29 July, nine journalists – Nasser Atta (ABC News), Rachid Safadi (Al Jazeera), Atta Awassat (Yedihot Aharonot), Fatem Awalan (Nile TV), Gevara Bouderi (Al Jazeera), Mahfuz Abu Turk (freelance, working mainly for Reuters), Muna Qawasmi (Al Ayyam), Amar Awad (Reuters) and Nasser Abdel Jawad (cameraman) – found themselves face-to-face with several hundred policemen after the demonstrators had fled or taken refuge in the mosque. The police, who had been about the charge, attacked the journalists and beat them with truncheons. Atta Awassat was hit with the butt of a rifle.

Tarek Abdel Jaber, journalist, and Abdel Nasser Abdoun, cameraman, both with Egyptian state television, were attacked on 13 August by an Israeli soldier at the Qalandia roadblock between Jerusalem and Ramallah. The soldier hit Abdel Nasser Abdoun in the face and the groin, so that he fell to the ground. According to the two journalists, other Israeli soldiers present did nothing to stop this assault. Abdel Nasser Abdoun was taken to Makaset hospital in Jerusalem where he spent three hours. The Israeli soldier was sentenced to 21 days in jail and prohibited from being in a position of command.

Pressure and obstruction

Tsahal soldiers shot warning shots in the direction of three Reuters journalists, Christine Hauser, Ahmed Bahadou and Suhaib Salem, on 8 March 2001 in Gaza. The journalists, who wanted to film and take photos of an Israeli military installation in Netzarim, and were clearly identifiable by their equipment, had to throw themselves to the ground. The soldiers asked them to leave. One of them went over to the journalists to tell them that they were not allowed there. The Israeli army spokesperson, Olivier Rafowicz, later commented that "because of the very tense situation in Gaza, civilians are not allowed to go near Israeli defence force posts". "The army simply shot warning shots. The Reuters crew had not informed the army of its presence in the area", he added.

In early May the head of the army education department, General Eliezer Stern, ordered the suspension of the Israeli army weekly BeMahaneh. According to an army spokesperson, "articles in the newspaper (dated 4 May 2001) did not correspond to army standards". An article published in that issue described a homosexual reserve colonel.

On 1 August a group of Palestinian journalists was blocked for several hours at a roadblock at the entrance to Nablus. The next day an ANN (Arab News Network) crew was held up for two hours at the same roadblock. Mohamad Al-Sayed, journalist, Ahmed Al-Asi, cameraman and their driver were insulted after Mohamad Al-Sayed (an Arab Israeli) refused to interpret for the Israeli soldiers.

The armoured car of Elizabeth Dalziel of Associated Press was hit by bullets during shooting on 5 October between Israeli soldiers and Palestinians in Hebron. After the first bullet hit the windscreen of the vehicle clearly marked "TV" and "Press", the journalist tried to flee. At least five other bullets then hit the car, one of which burst a tyre. The photograph said she did not see who opened fire but it seemed that the shots came from Israeli positions. This took place in the Abou Sneineh district, one of the two parts of Hebron into which the Israeli army made an incursion that day, killing five Palestinians. The Israeli army announced on 6 October that it was investigating the origin of the shots. In early 2002 the results of the inquiry had still not been disclosed.

In the autumn Ziad Abou Ziad, Palestinian member of the legislative assembly and managing editor of the magazine Palestine-Israel Journal (edited jointly by Israelis and Palestinians), was banned from entering Jerusalem where the head office of his newspaper is situated. "Some people fear dialogue between our two peoples more than anything else", explained the journalist.

A television crew from the Lebanese channel Al-Manar, owned by the Shiite Hezbollah movement, was shot at on 18 November by Israeli soldiers close to the border town of Kfarchouba. According to Hezbollah, one Asian and several European journalists were present and were also shot at. The Israeli soldiers shot at the journalists' feet.

On 13 December the Israeli army destroyed a Palestinian broadcasting installation in Ramallah by blowing up the main antenna. Palestinian radio and television had already stopped broadcasting the previous evening due to bombings. These official media were then forced to use private-sector broadcasting antennae.

On 18 December the Israeli GPO (Government Press Office) announced its plan not to renew the press cards of Palestinian journalists working for foreign media. Instead, they are to be given a "special assistant" orange card valid only for the Territories, which do not allow automatic access to Israel. The Israeli authorities justified this measure by claiming that Palestinian journalists "spread propaganda and do not meet journalistic standards for balanced coverage". According to the GPO, between 500 and 600 Palestinian journalists currently have a press card.