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| IDF raid in West Bank draws concern January 7, 2008 Minister of Defense Ehud Barak Dear Minister Barak, The Committee to Protect Journalists is deeply troubled by the Israel Defense Forces’ (IDF) raid on the offices of three Palestinian media outlets in the West Bank city of Nablus last month. In the early hours of December 12, IDF forces stormed the offices of the local private Afaq TV station, the Al-Rowad Institute for Press and Media, and the Al-Najah Office for the Press in central Nablus and seized equipment, sources at the media outlets told CPJ. A source at Afaq TV told CPJ that Israeli soldiers broke several doors in their offices and took digital cameras, mixers, computers, compacts discs, and documents pursuant to an official confiscation order signed by Maj. Gen. Gadi Shamni, head of the Israeli army’s Central Command. Since the raid, the station has been unable to broadcast. The confiscation order provided to Afaq TV, a copy of which was obtained by CPJ, stated that the station was raided to preserve security, and alleged that the confiscated equipment “belongs to and serves the station for the sake of illegal activities, which assists and supports the infrastructure of the Hamas terrorist organization, the Palestinian Islamic Jihad terrorist organization, and other terrorist organizations.” It was the second time this year that Israeli forces raided Afaq TV. On May 21, Israeli forces confiscated equipment from the station, including mixers, digital cameras, computers, and CDs, forcing it to go off the air for a month, a source at the station told CPJ. In a separate incident on December 12, IDF forces seized all eight computers at Al-Rowad Institute for Press and Media, including four new computers that had not been used, along with accounting and administrative documents, a source at Al-Rowad told CPJ. The news agency exclusively provides news for the Jerusalem-based daily Al-Quds. Israeli soldiers also seized three computers, a digital recorder, several compact discs, and documents from Al-Najah Office for the Press, which provides news for several news Web sites, including Al Jazeera’s and IslamOnline. Neither of those offices was shown a confiscation order. In a statement provided to CPJ, the IDF said its forces had raided media offices “that were affiliated with the Hamas terrorist organization” and said they were “declared illegal due to the financial support they provide for terrorist organizations, as well as families of suicide bombers and imprisoned terrorists.” It said the raids were meant to “thwart terrorist activity.” All three media outlets are widely known in Nablus for their newsgathering and reporting. A local journalist working for an international news organization told CPJ he suspected that Afaq TV may have been targeted because it vigorously reported the whereabouts of the Israeli forces during incursions on Nablus. The IDF has yet to provide a convincing explanation to justify its raids and the seizure of media equipment from these outlets. It remains unclear how the IDF foiled “terrorist activity” by confiscating newsgathering equipment, digital recorders, cameras, mixers, and computers from the offices of established news organizations. We view these actions as arbitrary and unjustifiable interference in the work of the press and urge you to ensure that the equipment of these news organizations is promptly returned. Such reckless raids on legitimate media outlets must cease Thank you for your attention to this important matter. We look forward to your reply. |
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Join CPJ in protesting this attack on the press. Write or fax to the address above. |
