The International Press Institute (IPI) today criticised an Israeli military raid on the offices of a broadcasting station in Ramallah early Saturday over the alleged distribution of material inciting terrorism and it urged authorities to return media equipment and documents that were seized.
The raid on the West Bank headquarters of Palmedia, which provides broadcast services to several media outlets, followed two weeks of unrest and violence in Jerusalem, where journalists have complained about being banned from covering clashes.
IPI Director of Advocacy and Communications Steven M. Ellis expressed concern over the raid and he urged Israeli authorities to refrain from interfering in the work of news media in the absence of clear evidence of an intent to incite imminent and likely violence.
“The search and reported confiscation of materials greatly harms the affected media outlets’ ability to report,” Ellis said. “Given the recent turmoil in Israel, it is vital that people have access to various sources of information on matters of public interest and that media outlets be allowed to operate free of harassment.”
Palmedia provides offices to Russian state-funded media network RT, Al-Mayadeen, Al-Manar and al-Quds News, among others.
The Palestinian Ma’an News Agency reported that Israeli soldiers searched and damaged the offices, and confiscated six data storage devices. Ma’an said that a reporter for RT who works in the building indicated that no equipment was confiscated from RT’s offices.
An Israeli army spokesperson confirmed the raid and the equipment seizure as part of “ongoing efforts against incitement” in the West Bank. The spokesperson said the seized documents included “inciting pictures”, but did not specify from which media outlets the material was confiscated.
Daoud Kuttab, a member of IPI’s Executive Board and the director-general of Community Media Network (CMN) in Jordan, described the operation as clear violation of media freedom. He said it would “do nothing to change the content on these stations”.
Kuttab explained: “[The raid] attempts to create an atmosphere of fear and intimidation. Such efforts at intellectually terrorising journalists and media staff are unacceptable.”
Saturday’s raid came after two weeks of violent protests in East Jerusalem, sparked by Israel’s installation of new security measures at the gates of al-Aqsa Mosque, located in the Old City’s hilltop compound considered holy by both Muslims and Jews.
Israeli, Palestinian and foreign journalists last week reported being barred from covering clashes in the area and complained of alleged police mistreatment. The Union of Journalists in Israel demanded that police allow journalists access and stop violence against them, while The Foreign Press Association threatened to petition Israel’s High Court.
In related news, last week Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called for Qatar-based news network Al Jazeera to be banned in Israel, blaming it for stirring violence.
“I asked law enforcement several times to close Al Jazeera’s office in Jerusalem,” he wrote in a Facebook post on Wednesday. “If this does not happen because of legal interpretations, I will act to pass the necessary laws to remove Al Jazeera from Israel.”
Al Jazeera vowed a legal fight if Netanyahu decided to pursue that plan.
