Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territory / Middle East & North Africa

Wattan TV bills itself as the voice of the voiceless. But since the Israeli army gutted its Ramallah headquarters in a predawn raid two months ago, that voice has been reduced to a whisper.

New York, April 4, 2012–The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the Palestinian Authority’s recent anti-press actions in which one journalist was detained for a week for reporting on alleged corruption and spying and a second was questioned over a critical article and his posts on social media. These actions occurred despite the Authority’s recent announcement…

New York, February 29, 2012–The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns today’s early-morning raid by Israeli soldiers on two private Palestinian television stations in Ramallah.

Iran is the world’s worst jailer of the press. Detentions rise in the Middle East and North Africa.

Hamas forces in Gaza cracked down on journalists covering March demonstrations that called for Palestinian unity. Local journalists were attacked, media bureaus raided, and journalistic material confiscated. In April, three photographers were assaulted in the West Bank while covering skirmishes between Palestinians and Israeli settlers in a village south of Nablus. In May, an Israeli soldier shot…

Dear Prime Minister Netanyahu: The Committee to Protect Journalists is alarmed by ongoing attacks on and detention of journalists in the Occupied Palestinian Territories as well as by a recent series of developments that restrict freedom of the press in Israel. Physical attacks, arrests, and other restrictions are creating an environment that undermines the vitality of the media, a key component of Israel’s democracy.