Israel’s Foreign Press Association made a rather misguided statement deploring Hamas’ four week detention of British journalist, Paul Martin:
The Foreign Press Association in Israel issued a statement welcoming his release, and saying that “Journalists should be able to continue doing their professional job in Gaza and or any other place, without having the threat of being arrested”.
Which is quite a laugh when you consider that Israeli journalists are NOT free to do their professional jobs in Gaza because the IDF prevents them, and virtually anyone else from entering the enclave. It would exclude foreign journalists too if it thought it could get away with it without an enormous outpouring of anger and bad press.
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Not to mention the fact that Israel deports journalists it doesn't like, namely, Jared Malsin. Face it, Israel just doesn't want anyone covering Gaza or Palestinian issues. I'm wondering how long Jonathan Cook is going to last in Nazareth until he's deported, too. I would be brokenhearted because you can't get anyone more qualified, knowledgeable, or more compassionate than Jonathan Cook. I'm not worried about Israeli journalists covering Gaza; I'm worried about ANYONE being able to cover Gaza, which I think is a much more important question.
The excellent Jonathan Cook is married to an Israeli citizen — and this does protect him. Of course Israeli journalists should be allowed to cover Gaza. The excellent Amira Hass, an Israeli journalist working for Haaretz and living in Ramallah (after previously living in Gaza) has been back to Gaza three times over the past two years. However, she was arrested upon her return to Israel twice — the first time when Hamas considerately deported her via Erez terminal out of a stated concern for her safety, despite the fact that she had intended to depart via a Free Gaza return by sea to Cyprus, and then fly back to Ben Gurion Airport, which would have spared her from that arrest. Her second arrest was also when she departed from Erez. It has gradually become clear that the legal basis for her arrest (as for the earlier arrest of the excellent Israeli + American activist Jeff Halper, head of ICAHD, the Israeli Committee Against House Demolition, when he departed Gaza via Erez after sailing in the first Free Gaza expedition from Cyprus), was a Israeli administrative decision put into place after Israel's 2005 "disengagement" from Gaza — after which it was forbidden for any Israeli to be in Gaza.
If I had been asked to draft the FPA statement after Martin's release, I would have written it differently.
Human Rights Watch issued an interesting statement today (received by email, maybe also on their website), containing some information that was not previously disclosed, including comments from Martin's lawyer, Sharhabeel al-Zaeem, who said he did not see Martin at all during his first two-week detention, and never in privacy. HRW also said that "At no time was Martin brought before a judge for an independent hearing on his detention … Hamas authorities informed al-Zaeem on February 16 that they had ordered Martin’s detention on the suspicion that he was an enemy spy and had recruited others to spy – charges that carry the death penalty".
Astonishing statement from Israel, which arrested Amira Hass on her return to Israel after our Free Gaza boat DIGNITY took her to Gaza.
I knew Jeff Halper was similarly arrested & I knew Amira was expelled by Hamas. Are you sure Israel arrested her too? I didn't hear that.
Yes, Amira Hass was arrested both times she exited Gaza from Erez (the first time was after she arrived on a Free Gaza expedition, but after a while she was taken to Erez and, well, yes, expelled by Hamas, though she had intended to return by sea).
I think that Amira did not spend time in jail, as Jeff Halper did (over a day) when he was arrested.
But neither Amira Hass nor Jeff Halper were prosecuted in court.
Thanks for clarifying that. Jeff told me that he could be arrested & tried at any time for his "offense." But so far nothing has happened.