Israeli Gaza media blackout 'insufferable'

Israel's effort to effectively turn the entire Gaza Strip into a closed military zone is entering its third week.

Despite private assurances that the ban would not last long, Israel has prevented the international media from entering Gaza since launching a short military operation on Nov. 4 as the eyes of the world were fixated on the historic election of Barack Obama.

This week, after filing a letter of protest, the Foreign Press Association (of which McClatchy Newspapers is a part) took the matter to Israel's Supreme Court and asked the judges to overturn the ban.

"This blackout of the Gaza Strip is hurting Israel’s image in the eyes of the world and undermines its standing as the only democracy in the Middle East," the FPA argues in the petition. "The defendants policies, in addition to being illegal and insufferable, hurt Israel and endanger its political nature. To put it plainly, one bad decision is worse than ten potential stories that may not be supportive."

But there is no end in sight.

Today, the court gave gave the Israeli government 15 days to respond to the FPA petition. And Israel continues to prevent international reporters from going into Gaza.

Israeli officials have offered no coherent explanation for the press ban. Instead, the clearest explanation has come from Israeli military spokesman Shlomo Dror.

"Where Gaza is concerned, our image will always be bad," Dror said. "When journalists go in it works against us, and when they don't go in it works against us."

This week, Haaretz weighed in with an editorial urging Israel to lift the ban.

"Shutting out foreign journalists is an act of punishment that gives Israel and her democracy a bad name," the editorial states. "Freedom of the press is freedom of the press, and any infringement on it is grave... A Gaza Strip closed to media coverage harms Israel's image and endangers the character of its polity more than any negative article written about it."

According to Maariv, the Israeli policy has created a rift within the government between the Foreign Ministry (which opposes the media ban) and the Defense Ministry, led by Ehud Barak, the Labor Party leader facing the prospect of a poor showing in national elections this February.

"Israel appears as if it is trying to shut people's mouths and restrict the freedom of the press," a political source told Maariv. "At present, we are losing points, because the foreign journalists are dealing with the question of why the crossings are being closed to them and not with the real story, which is the Qassam rocket fire."

If there is indeed a rift, Barak is coming out on top. 

Whether intentional or not, with the ongoing restrictions - on journalists, diplomats, all-but-essential aid, and most aid workers - Israel is effectively testing a strategy of sealing its borders with Gaza and washing its hands of the whole mess.

If-and-when Israel allows reporters back into Gaza, it has still set a questionable precedent that it could try and use to bar journalists from going to Gaza if-and-when the Israeli military launches a new military operation.

Comments

[Carlos Townsend]

buenos,

tx 4 the update.

godspeed.

los

[ofek]

why the reporters don't enter the Gaza strip through its border with Egypt? you don't have the courtesy to report a simple fact that the Gaza strip has a border line with the state of Egypt, a thinking person will or should ask why are you and others don't put emphasis on the fact that Israel doesn't control that border.
it doesn't fit your narrative that an Arab state seal its border with Gaza and in effect complete a blockade on that zone.

[char]

israel listens to NO ONE. they are above everyone.(so they think)

[Dion Nissenbaum]

ofek -
the rafah border has been controlled in conjunction with israel. the previous agreement on access via rafah was done with the EU and Israeli oversight and, as I recall, did not allow for foreigners to go through. since hamas took over, egypt has worked with israel to keep the border closed. unfortunately, the idea of traveling to sinai, through the egyptian checkpoints and to rafah to get into egypt is circuitous and impractical.