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Early morning on Thursday [23 March], unknown armed men stormed Al-Ru'ah TV offices in Al-Dawhah near Bethlehem. The incident took place around 03:30 [local time] when an unknown number of armed men, with black masks on their faces, stormed the offices after breaking the main door. They entered a small room where the employee in charge of broadcasting went to bed less than half an hour earlier. The men destroyed the transmission equipment, television sets, computers and everything else they could reach, using rifle butts and sharp tools. The damage was described as serious and caused total disruption of transmission. A Palestinian police force, the criminal investigation police and another force from the institutions' security apparatus affiliated with the Preventive Security arrived at the scene. They heard a detailed report on what happened. Bethlehem Governor Maj-Gen Salah al-Ta'mari also visited the TV offices. He denounced the incident and considered it not only an attack against Al-Ru'ah TV offices and employees, but also an attack against every honest citizen and the freedom of expression. He described the incident as an act alien to our people, their manners, customs and rules of conduct. [Passage omitted] Journalist Muhammad Manasrah described the attack as a primitive method that cannot result in silencing the voice of Al-Ru'ah in defending people's causes. Journalist Hasan Abd-al-Jawad, member of the Palestinian Journalists' Association Administrative Board, described the attack as a condemned crime and a rejected method that aims to silence the free and courageous voice of the media. Na'im al-Tubasi, head of the Palestinian Journalists' Association, condemned the attack against Al-Ru'ah and said that the association would not keep silent at such attacks. He added: "While the various mass media face an Israeli aggressive campaign, we find that a dissident group that does not share the morality of our people goes after the Palestinian press in favour of the Israeli entity and its plans." The Journalists' Association also called for a sit-in at 10:00 on Friday [24 March] in the Church of the Nativity Square to protest the attack. [Passage omitted]
Source: Al-Quds, Jerusalem, in Arabic 24 Mar 06 BBC Mon ME1 MEPol MD1 Media vs back to news headlines |