Even as the Palestinian Authority launched a campaign to have Hamas removed from international lists of terror organizations, journalists and a human rights group are accusing the Islamic movement of harassing journalists and restricting books and newspapers in the Gaza Strip.
Human Rights Watch, a New York-based non-governmental organization, on Monday urged Hamas to immediately lift any book ban and also to stop barring newspapers that support Fatah, a rival movement which leads the Palestinian Authority (PA), from being distributed in the Gaza Strip.
Meanwhile, an organization representing foreign correspondents in Israel and Palestinian-ruled areas accused Hamas of turning a blind eye to the violent harassment by its officials of journalists reporting from Gaza. It alleged that plainclothes Hamas agents had forcibly broke up a demonstration in Gaza City last week, detained a cameraman, dragged him away and confiscated his footage.
“This was just the latest in a disturbing pattern of harassment and intimidation of journalists by Hamas,” the Foreign Press Association (FPA) said in a statement. “Unfortunately, our past appeals for press freedom have repeatedly been ignored by Hamas. We remind the group that our members all work for respected global news organizations.”
“We again demand that Hamas allow journalists to do their work and respect the basic right of freedom of the press,” the FOPA added. “Continued harassment will affect coverage of the story.”
Tightening control by Hamas, which seized control of Gaza in 2007 and views with the PA as the sole legitimate voice of the Palestinian people, comes in sharp contrast to trends in the rest of the Middle East. Political unrest has forced governments to ease up on press censorship, blocking the Internet and other controls over free speech. Gaza and the PA-controlled West Bank, however, have been quiet to date.
The Human Rights Watch critique came following a crackdown by Hamas agents on literature it considers “immoral.”
"At a time when people around the Middle East demand more freedom, Hamas has decided to restrict the freedom of Gaza residents to choose what they read," Sarah Leah Whitson, Middle East director at Human Rights Watch, said in a statement.
In spite of the criticism, the Fatah-controlled PA said it was taking steps toward reconciliation with its bitter Hamas rival amid public pressure to end the political division between Hamas-ruled Gaza and the PA-controlled West Bank. On Monday, PA negotiator Nabil Sha’ath told reporters in Cairo that the PA was seeking to have Hamas removed from the list of terror organizations.
The European Union, the United States, Canada, Israel and Japan classify Hamas as a terrorist group. They have conditioned recognition of Hamas on its taking a number of steps, including accepting agreements the Palestinians have already signed with Israel and forswearing violence.
Sha’ath said the campaign was being launched to make it easier for the world to formally recognize a Palestinians national unity government, if and when the two sides can iron out differences and reach a common platform. A spokesman for Hamas could not be reached for comment.
Talaat Al-Safadi, the owner of the Ibn Khaldun bookstore and lecturer at Al Azhar University in Gaza City, said Hamas police officers wearing civilian clothing and accompanied by a uniform officer entered three bookstores in Gaza City on January 23 and confiscated copies of two books they alleged were "against shari'a," the Islamic law code.
He told The Media Line that they demanded his copies of A Banquet for Seaweed, a novel by Haidar Haidar, and of Chicago, a novel by Alaa' Al-Aswany. They provided no basis for their actions in written law or court order, he said.
"After I refused to hand over the books, the policemen showed me a notice of confiscation from the Culture Ministry, and not the appropriate security authorities. I told them: 'I have no connection to the Culture Ministry. …Confiscation is considered illegal. Neither you nor I have a list stating that these books are banned. Moreover, some of these books have been printed over than 25 years ago. The book A Banquet for Seaweed was translated into more than 15 languages,’” Al-Safadi, said.
Al-Safadi termed the Hamas action “illogical” since the books could be downloaded from the Internet.
Human Rights Watch said that members of the General Investigation Bureau confiscated copies of Chicago and A Banquet for Seaweed from the Al-Shurouq bookstore in Gaza City, and that the Internal Security Service officers ordered employees at the Samir Mansour bookstore, near Gaza City's Islamic University, not to sell any copies of the novels.
"Hamas shouldn't blame its own arbitrary restrictions of press freedom on the Palestinian Authority," Whitson said. "Hamas's criticisms of rights violations in the West Bank would be more credible if Hamas lifted its own ban on newspapers that criticize Hamas."
Hamas security officers also searched for copies of a novel titled Forbidden Pleasure but didn’t locate any, the rights group reported.
Human Rights Watch has in the past accused both Hamas and Fatah of torture and war crimes. In its statement, it also criticized bans by the PA against pro-Hamas publications in the West Bank.
Human Rights Watch also urged Hamas authorities to lift an ongoing ban on importing into Gaza three newspapers printed in the West Bank -- Al-Ayyam, Al-Quds and Al-Hayat Al-Jadida. Israel had previously barred the newspapers from being taken into Gaza but had lifted the restriction in June 2010 as part of an announced "easing" of its closure of Gaza's borders. Hamas then barred their entry.
"Hamas authorities should stop banning books and newspapers now,” Whitson said.
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