["Israeli Army Storms Five TV and Radio Stations in Nablus" - Ma'an headline]

Nablus -Ma'an -The Israeli army broke into five television and radio stations in the city of Nablus, in the north of the occupied West Bank, on Monday morning, seizing large amounts of equipment. The owners of the stations told Ma'an that the Israeli soldiers seized computers and other technical equipment used for broadcasting.

The attacks were on Sana TV, Afaq TV, Nablus TV, Gama TV and Al-Koran radio station, all local stations.

Issa Abu-al-Izz told our Nablus reporter that large numbers of Israeli soldiers stormed into his station, Afaq TV, and seized ten computers and mixers, in addition to four cameras. Rami Abd-al-Latif from Sana TV told Ma'an that the Israeli soldiers seized nine computers and the archive without any clear reasons.

In a statement, Nablus TV condemned the Israeli attack on the TV and radio stations and said that this was the third attack by the Israeli army in the last four months. The statement considered the attack as an "Israeli attempt to shut the media voice down."

"This is because these stations expose and broadcast the Israeli practices and crimes against the Palestinian people," the statement added.

The Palestinian ministry of information condemned the attack, which it described as a "furious attack on the media."

The ministry undersecretary, Suhayl Khalaf, said that the ministry is evaluating the damages resulting from the attack and will find suitable solutions to ensure the stations return to normal operations as soon as possible.

Source: Ma'an News Agency website, Bethlehem, in English 21 May 07

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