Associated Press reported that film taken by its reporters, and by those of other agencies, of a Hamas demonstration in Gaza was confiscated by PA policemen - because the film showed Arabs carrying a large poster of Osama bin Laden. About 1,500 Palestinians, many of them supporters of the Islamic terrorist group Hamas, marched on Friday, burning Israeli flags and showing support for Bin Laden. After the rally, plainclothes Palestinian policemen questioned several journalists, and confiscated videotape, film, and camera equipment. An AP video was among the materials taken, and an AP photographer was warned by officials not to publish pictures of the Bin Laden poster.
Israel\'s Foreign Press Association Board released a statement on Thursday expressing \"deep concern\" over similar harassment of journalists by the Palestinian Authority. The statement noted that \"[PA] police forces and armed gunmen tried to prevent photo and video coverage of Tuesday\'s rally in Nablus where hundreds of Palestinians celebrated the terror attacks in N.Y. and Washington.\" The members of the Board \"strongly condemn the direct threats... by local militia members and the attitude of Palestinian officials who made no effort to counter the threats, control the situation, or to guarantee the safety of the journalists and the freedom of the press... We hold the PA fully responsible for the safety of each and every journalist operating within their areas, especially those who were filming and covering Tuesday\'s events in Nablus.”
It has been noted that the PA is acting wisely, from its point of view, in preventing the broadcast of news of Palestinian celebrations of the destruction of the World Trade Center, while disseminating photos of Arafat donating blood, Palestinian students in moment of silence, and the like.
Israel\'s Foreign Press Association Board released a statement on Thursday expressing \"deep concern\" over similar harassment of journalists by the Palestinian Authority. The statement noted that \"[PA] police forces and armed gunmen tried to prevent photo and video coverage of Tuesday\'s rally in Nablus where hundreds of Palestinians celebrated the terror attacks in N.Y. and Washington.\" The members of the Board \"strongly condemn the direct threats... by local militia members and the attitude of Palestinian officials who made no effort to counter the threats, control the situation, or to guarantee the safety of the journalists and the freedom of the press... We hold the PA fully responsible for the safety of each and every journalist operating within their areas, especially those who were filming and covering Tuesday\'s events in Nablus.”
It has been noted that the PA is acting wisely, from its point of view, in preventing the broadcast of news of Palestinian celebrations of the destruction of the World Trade Center, while disseminating photos of Arafat donating blood, Palestinian students in moment of silence, and the like.