Warring Fatah and Hamas terrorists are using reporters as pawns in their struggle by arresting them, the Reporters without Borders group has charged. It said four journalists currently are in custody in Judea, Samaria and Gaza.
"The political struggle between Hamas and Fatah has inflicted a great deal of damage on the press," Reporters without Borders said. "Many media have been closed and dozens of journalists have been arrested. In the absence of the rule of law, [...] they have no way of defending themselves."
Waddah Eid, a contributor to Aljazeera, has been held in Samaria since 17 July, when Palestinian Authority (PA) security services summoned him to their headquarters in Ramallah. Awad Al-Rajoub, a full-time Al Jazeera correspondent, revealed the harsh conditions while he was held. "I spent 26 days in solitary confinement, 16 of them in appalling conditions," he said.