The Palestinian Center for Development and Media Freedoms MADA Media Freedoms Violations in Palestine Annual Report 2014 Completed under the supervision of Mousa Rimawi Prepared and edited by Ghazi Bani Odeh Monitoring and documenting: Shireen Al-Khatib and Karem Nashwan Translation: Mannar Alamlah Media Freedoms Violations in Palestine Annual Report 2014 © All rights reserved 2015 The Palestinian Center for Development and Media Freedoms MADA The Palestinian Center for Development and Media Freedoms “MADA” thanks the Open Society Foundations for their support in publishing the report Contents: Introduction................................................................................................ 4 Summary of media freedom violations .................................................... 5 Israeli Violations ........................................................................................ 7 Recommendations...................................................................................... 19 Palestinian Violations................................................................................. 20 Palestinian Violations in West Bank.......................................................... 23 Palestinian Violations in Gaza Strip........................................................... 25 Recommendations ..................................................................................... 27 Details of Violations................................................................................... 28 Introduction 2014 was the worst, the bloodiest and the hardest year for journalists and media freedoms in Palestine. It was the worst in terms of the type and dangerousness of the violence and of the quantity of crimes and violations committed against media freedoms. The killing by Israel of 17 journalists in Gaza was on the top of the violations against media freedoms monitored by the Palestinian Center for Development and Media Freedoms (MADA), an escalation of 108% compared to the previous year. The New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists mentioned that 60 journalists were killed worldwide while performing their work in 2014. Reporters without Borders mentioned 66 killed journalists worldwide in 2014. The beheading of two journalists by ISIL (Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant) were the most barbaric crimes committed against journalists in 2014. 199 journalists were kidnapped, according to Reporters without Borders1. According to a report by the Committee to Protect Journalists, more than half of the journalists killed in 2014 were killed in the Middle East. The Committee to Protect Journalists and Reporters without Borders reported that 7 journalists were killed in Gaza during the Israeli attack in 2014, but MADA monitored 17 killings of journalists and media workers by the Israeli occupation forces in Gaza this year (cf. MADA July and August media violations reports). On the other Hnd, a report released by Press Emblem Campaign (PEC) shows that 138 were killed in 32 different countries Besides, 2014 witnessed a new type of violations and harassment related to freedom of expression, with the Israeli authorities arresting 17 Palestinians for their writings on Facebook and using journalists as human shields. On the other hand, the West Bank recorded the first case of banning of a Palestinian blogger from travelling because of his writings and publications on the Internet by the Palestinian authorities. 1 http://en.rsf.org/files/bilan-2014-EN.pdf 4 Media freedoms violations in Palestine in 2014 - Summary Media freedoms violations in Palestine in 2014 - Summary The violations monitored by MADA escalated in the West Bank including east Jerusalem, and the Gaza Strip in 2014, compared to the violations against journalists and media freedoms in Palestine monitored during the previous years. The total number of crimes and violations in the West Bank, the Gaza Strip and Jerusalem reached 465 in 2014. The IOF committed the most serious and dangerous violations: 351 cases, i.e. 75% of the total of violations. The Palestinian side committed 114 violations, i.e. 25% of the total. Total number of violations against media freedoms in 2014 Palestinian sides Israeli occupation Total West Bank Gaza Strip West Bank Gaza Strip 90 24 239 112 Total 114 351 465 The main escalation in 2014 is due to Israeli violations, especially those crimes committed by the IOF (Israeli Occupation Forces) during their severe attack on the Gaza Strip in July and August 2014. Total number of violations against media freedoms in 2014 Palestinian sides Israeli occupation Media freedoms violations in Palestine in 2014 - Summary 5 The number of the Israeli violations was double of the violations committed in 2013, with the Israeli violations rising from 151 violations in 2013 to 351 assaults in 2014, which means an escalation of 132% The violations against journalists in 2014 and the previous years Year Palestinian violations Israeli violations Total 2008 110 147 257 2009 76 97 173 2010 79 139 218 2011 106 100 206 2012 74 164 238 2013 78 151 229 2014 114 351 465 Total 637 1149 1686 The total of Israeli violations in 2014 equals 44% of all the violations committed in the previous 6 years (from 2008 to 2013). This shows that the Israeli violations against journalists form the largest number and most dangerous violations in Palestine. The Palestinian violations in 2014 witnessed an escalation compared to 2013. 2014 recorded 114 Palestinian violations while there were 78 in 2013, which means an escalation of 46%. It is clear that the violations in the West Bank were higher than in the Gaza Strip. The Palestinian violations in 2014 were the highest since 2008. “On Thursday 7/7 an F-16 shelled our neighbor’s (Mahmoud Al-Hajj) house; there were 8 persons inside. Pieces of the house were projected into my house and as a result my house’s walls and ceilings collapsed. My wife, who is in her thirties and my 8 years daughter, stayed under the rubbles before they both could be rescued; my wife stayed for 20 minutes and my daughter for 30 minutes” (Palestinian Public TV’s cameraman Mahmoud Al-Athamne) 6 Media freedoms violations in Palestine in 2014 - Summary Israeli violations The Israeli violations were of 15 types. Most of them are considered as severe and dangerous according to the average violations committed against journalists in Palestine. These violations took the following forms: killing, injuring, shelling and destroying media outlets, shelling and destroying houses of journalists, interrupting the broadcast of media outlets, detaining journalists, preventing from covering, threatening, raiding and inspecting houses, arresting, travel bans, summoning and interrogation, destroying cars and journalistic equipment, using journalists as human shields, seizing media equipment, and closing media outlets. Israeli media violations in Palestine in 2014 (type and place of violation) Type of violation Gaza Strip West Bank Total killing 17 0 17 Assaulting & injuring 27 131 158 Shelling media outlets 20 0 20 Shelling journalists’ houses 37 0 37 Interrupting the broadcast 8 0 8 Detaining and preventing from coverage 0 57 57 Threatening and preventing from coverage 0 6 6 Raiding and inspecting houses 0 8 8 Arrests 0 13 13 Summoning and interrogating 0 5 5 Travel bans 0 5 5 Destroying cars and media equipment 3 7 10 Using journalists as human shields 0 2 2 Seizing equipment 0 3 3 Closing media outlets 0 2 2 Total 112 239 351 Media freedoms violations in Palestine in 2014 - Summary 7 6 of these types of violations are considered very serious: killing, assaulting and injuring, shelling media outlets, shelling journalists’ houses, arresting and using journalists as human shields. These 6 types of dangerous violations form the most numerous types of violations committed by the IOF, i.e. 247 out of 351, which is 70% of the total Israeli violations in 2014. The most serious Israeli violations against journalists Type of Using journalists as Shelling journalists’ Shelling Assaults and Arrests Killing Total violation human shields houses media outlets injuries Number 2 13 37 20 158 17 247 The total of physical violations (killing, assaulting and injuring) that directly threatened journalists’ lives reached 175, i.e. 50% of the total of Israeli violations. “On Friday 18/7, at around 6:53 AM, our office which is located in Gaza city (Rimal neighborhood, Al-Jawhara tower, 8th floor) was shelled by Israeli Apache warplane which threw three rockets without a previous warning; we were 35 people - cameramen, journalists and a sound technician – in the office. When the first rocket landed we left the office and ran to the building’s stairs. And after the second and third missiles hit the office, the sound technician Muhammad Shabat (42 years old) was injured in the left hand.” (The director of Alwataniya National Agency Mustafa Shihadeh) 8 Media freedoms violations in Palestine in 2014 - Summary The most serious Israeli violations against journalists Using journalists as human shields Arrests Killing Shelling journalists’ houses Shelling media outlets Assaults and injuries Even though the most serious and numerous violations were committed in the Gaza Strip during the latest Israeli attack, that lasted for 51 days in July and August, the journalists in the West Bank and Jerusalem have also been victims of the IOF’ assaults. There were dozens of journalists injured by Israeli bullets, stun and tear gas grenades, some were arrested and others used as human shields. No shelling or