Journalists light candles to commemorate their colleagues killed in Israel's last
war on Gaza, Operation Cast Lead, in Gaza City on Jan. 6 2010.
(MaanImages/Wissam Nassar, File)
RAMALLAH (Ma'an) -- Israel on Wednesday extended the imprisonment of a journalist who has not been charged or tried for any offense, a press freedom watchdog said.
Israeli forces detained Nawaf al-Amer, a program coordinator for Quds satellite TV station, in June from his home near Nablus in the northern West Bank.
On Wednesday, Israel extended al-Amer's detention for four months, the Palestinian Center for Development and Media Freedoms (MADA) said in a statement.
Al-Amer has not been tried or given any reason for his arrest or imprisonment. His wife told MADA that Israel has prevented their sons from visiting their father since his arrest.
The center strongly condemned the extension of al-Amer's detention, noting that it stood "in flagrant violation of legal due process under international law."
Al-Amer is being held in administrative detention, a practice widely used by Israel against Palestinians under which detainees are held without charge or trial.
The Israeli human rights organization B'Tselem says administrative detention "is carried out under the thick cover of privilege, which denies detainees the possibility of mounting a proper defense."
MADA urged international organizations to protect Palestinian journalists and to lobby on behalf of those in detention.
Tuesday September 27, 2011 04:37 by http://ufree-p.net/ - The European Network to support the rights of Palestinians Prisoners
Monday afternoon, Israeli military court decided to release Al-Jazeera bureau chief in Afghanistan, journalist Samir Allawi, after 49 days in illegal detention and interrogation.
Allawi After His Release - Al Jazeera
Samir Allawi appeared at Israeli military court hearings seven times since his arrest on August 9th August however he was cleared from all accusations made against him.
UFree congratulates journalist Allawi on his determination and will follow his illegal detention by Israel at international and legal platforms in order to expose the Israeli violations against freedom of expression and movement.
OSLO, (PIC)-- The European network to support the Palestinian prisoners (UFree) has begun a campaign to raise the issue of Israel’s arrest of Al-Jazeera reporter Samer Allawi with European lawmakers and international human rights organizations. UFree head Mohammed Hamdan wrote several European MPs detailing Allawi’s situation. In the letters, he described how the Israeli authorities have refused to provide his rights as a prisoner or to provide him medical treatment or allow him to meet with his lawyer. A formal indictment has yet to be placed against Allawi since his arrest on 9 August. UFree, which has its headquarters in Oslo, Norway, launched a popular campaign in solidarity with Allawi, head of Al-Jazeera’s Afghanistan bureau, who was arrested while visiting family in the occupied territories last month.
Saturday September 10, 2011 22:08 by UFree Network
Lawmakers and human rights advocates must intervene to free Samer Allawi, a Palestinian who works as Afghanistan bureau chief for Al Jazeera, says the organization UFree in a press release issued today. Allawi was detained without charges by the Israeli military on Aug. 9 when he was attempting to cross into Jordan from the West Bank, where he had been visiting family. He has been held in jail ever since.
“We must protect the right of all Palestinians to visit their families, and the right of all journalists to move freely,” stated Mohammed Hamdan, chairman of (UFree) The European Network to Support the Rights of Palestinian Prisoners and its head office in Olso-Norway.
“We all know what happens to many Palestinian detainees; reports of severe beatings and other forms of torture are not uncommon. There is no time to waste.”
According to Al Jazeera, the 44-year-old Allawi was taken to a prison east of Haifa and interrogated by Israeli intelligence forces. Allawi's lawyer reports that he was questioned about his work for the network, and forced to reveal the log-in information for his personal and work emails and proprietary news software.
Israeli authorities accused Allawi of being a member of Hamas and contacting its military leadership. However, he has regularly spent his yearly summer vacation with his family and relatives in his hometown in the occupied West Bank.
"The arrest of Samer Allawi is a clear violation of the right to freedom of speech and movement enshrined in international law," stated Hamdan, adding that to date, UFree has received positive response to its letter.
"It is way past time for the international community charged with protecting these rights to force the Israeli occupation authorities to stop their violations of these fundamental freedoms."
More information on how all individuals can mobilize to help Allwai can be found at
Physicians for Human Rights-Israel, Adalah and Al Mezan:
(Jaffa-Tel Aviv, Israel) Today, 1 September 2011, Physicians for Human Rights-Israel (PHR-I), together with its partners Adalah – The Legal Center for Arab Minority Rights in Israel and the Al Mezan Centre for Human Rights in Gaza filed a prisoners' appeal to the Haifa District Court on behalf of Mr. Samer Allawi, a Palestinian national and the Afghanistan Bureau Chief for the international media network Al-Jazeera. In the appeal the three organizations demanded that the Israel Prison Service (IPS) and the Israel Security Agency (ISA, GSS, shabak) allow an independent physician volunteer from PHR-Israel, to immediately visit Mr. Allawi.
On 25 and 29 August 2011, PHR-Israel sent urgent requests to the Chief Medical Officer of the IPS, Dr. Dini Tischler, requesting an immediate visit to Mr. Allawi by a physician volunteering with PHR-Israel, with no response to date.
Mr. Allawi arrived in the Occupied West Bank in July 2011 on an annual visit to his parents. On 9 August 2011, following a stay of approximately 20 days, he tried to leave the area for Jordan and was arrested at the Allenby Crossing by the Israeli security forces. He has been held and interrogated by Israeli authorities ever since, for 23 days.
He is currently detained at the Kishon prison, an IPS detention facility in Haifa, and is under interrogation by the ISA, with no charges have been filed against him to date.
Mr. Allawi's attorney, Salim Wakeem, has voiced concerns regarding the methods of his interrogation, particularly as Mr. Allawi suffers from chronic health conditions. Mr. Allawi's attorney was denied access to documentation concerning his medical condition and treatment.
Court protocols from Mr. Allawi's hearing dated 22 August 2011 indicate that Mr. Allawi was not examined by a physician upon arrival in the detention facility, in contradiction of the IPS regulations, which provide that a detainee should be examined by a medic within 24 hours and by a physician within 48 hours of arriving in a detention facility.
According to court protocols, Mr. Allawi stated that since his arrest he has suffered pain that is not treated; that he was not examined by a physician since his arrest; that he has used only medications he had with him upon his arrest, and that the IPS has not supplied him with any further medication.
Court protocols from a later hearing dated 28 August 2011 suggest that the ISA has access to and has reviewed Mr. Allawi's medical documentation as part of his interrogation process. However, the ISA is retaining these records, along with a series of classified documents that are not revealed to anyone but the court. In response to a query from Mr. Allawi’s lawyer, asking whether his medical condition had been considered when deciding on interrogation, the ISA interrogator answered in the affirmative, saying that '. . . there are medical documents from the detention facility physician that refer to the subject of shackling and to the subject of the medical condition of the suspect and the documents were presented to the court.'
This statement suggests that medical documents and personnel were used for the purpose of deciding the methods of interrogation in a non-transparent manner, and in contradiction of principles of medical ethics and medical confidentiality.
The answer provided by the ISA interrogator raises concerns that medical issues are reviewed and discussed within the detention system in a manner that mixes medical and security issues and may lead to the exploitation of health for security needs. This increases the risk of torture and/or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment (CIDT) as defined by the UN Convention Against Torture, to which Israel is a state party.
The right to receive adequate medical treatment, to be detained in conditions that do not harm one's health and to be examined by an independent physician are protected in the Israel Patients’ Rights Law, the IPS regulations, and in international standards for the protection of prisoners and detainees.
The fact that these rights are routinely and more easily compromised in the case of Palestinian prisoners interrogated by the ISA calls for special attention. In such circumstances and environment, torture tends to be more prevalent.
PHR-I, Adalah and Al Mezan will urge the EU to raise the case of the detention of Mr. Allawi with the Israeli government at the upcoming EU-Israel human rights working group meeting, scheduled to take place in Israel on 13 September 2011, with specific regard to his medical condition and concerns for the conditions and methods of his interrogation and incarceration, as well as the need for an independent doctor's visit.
The Palestinian Centre for Development and Media Freedoms (MADA) has condemned the continued incarceration of five Palestinian journalists by Israeli authorities.
The five journalists come from across the West Bank and work for a wide variety of Arab media agencies. Their names are: Walid Khalid (‘Palestine’ newspaper), Nawaf Al-Amer (‘Al-Quds’ television), Samer Allawi (‘Al-Jazeera’, a satellite news channel), Osaid Amarneh (‘Al-Aqsa’ television) and Amer Abu Arafeh (‘Shab’ news agency).
Two of the men, Khalid and Al-Amer, have been sentenced to administrative detention whilst Allawi, who was the head of Al-Jazeera’s Afghanistan Bureau before his arrest on 9th August, has yet to be charged.
In its statement, MADA has called for the immediate release of all the journalists, describing their imprisonment as part of an ‘enduring disregard for international human rights law in the occupied Palestinian territories’.
‘MADA demands the immediate release of these unlawfully detained journalists and additionally demands the international community in its capacity in formal human rights institutions [sic] and the bodies of the United Nations exercise [sic] real pressure on the Israeli government to expedite their release.’
AL-KHALIL, (PIC)-- Israeli occupation forces (IOF) broke into the home of Palestinian MP Hatem Qufaisha south of Al-Khalil city before dawn Monday and took him away, his family said. The family members told the PIC reporter that an IOF unit encircled the home of Dr. Qufaisha at 0100 am Monday and arrested him after allowing him to change his clothes. The Israeli occupation authority (IOA) had released the MP from custody in November 2009 after more than a year and a half in administrative detention. Qufaisha was arrested three times at the hands of the IOF during the current parliament's tenure and was held in IOA custody for 100 months on aggregate mostly in administrative detention without charge or trial. Qufaisha is a well-known social and political figure in Al-Khalil. His brother Subhi was targeted by militias of the PA in Ramallah and by the IOF. Subhi is currently held in the IOA Ofer prison serving a three-month administrative detention since mid September. The international campaign to release kidnapped deputies denounced the detention of Qufaisha and called for an international decision to bridle the IOA and its unprecedented acts in history of world parliaments.
----------
Israel continues political detention campaign
Published yesterday (updated) 18/10/2010 12:36
BETHLEHEM (Ma'an) -- Israeli forces detained a Hamas-affiliated member of the Palestinian Legislative Council on Monday from the southern West Bank district of Hebron.
Hatem Qafaish, elected to the Palestinian parliament in 2006 with Hamas' Change and Reform bloc, was detained after Israeli forces ransacked his home, a local source told Ma'an. The PLC member was detained on 6 November 2007 and placed under administrative detention until his release in 2009.
Palestinian journalist Raed Ash-Sharif, working with a local Hebron radio station, was also detained.
According to the Ad-Dameer Prisoners’ Support and Human Rights organization, Qafaish had been detained by Israel five times previous to his latest detention. He was elected to the PLC in January 2006 after campaigning from his prison cell.
Qafaish was also among the more than 400 activists Israel deported to Marj Al-Zuhur in southern Lebanon in December 1992. After returning to the West Bank in 1993, he chronicled his experience in exile in a series of articles in the Al-Quds newspaper. He intended to eventually to publish a memoir, but the manuscript was confiscated by Israeli prison guards.
There are six Hamas-affiliated PLC members in Israeli, detained shortly after the Islamist movement's electoral victory. Following the capture of Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit in June 2006 in a cross-border raid in Gaza, Israel launched a detention campaign targeting Hamas affiliated PLC members in a bid to secure the soldier's release.
A second campaign was launched in 2009, after Israel, Hamas and a German mediator, failed to come to a prisoner swap deal under Ehud Olmert's premiership. Many of those detained in the later campaign were handed down administrative detention sentences, according to a report issued in June, with others receiving prison terms. The majority were released shortly after.
Since the beginning of 2010, a number of Hamas PLC members were released, including Mohammad Abu Teir. Shortly after his release, Abu Teir was again detained, issued a revocation order for his Jerusalem residency rights, and handed down a deportation warrant. He is currently being remanded in custody until Israel's Supreme Court hears his case.
Abu Teir is among three other elected Change and Reform parliamentarians who are faced with deportation from Jerusalem.
One lawyer told Ma'an that under all legal precedents, lawmakers are immune while sitting in office. Israel, the lawyer said, has violated this legal norm both by jailing Palestinian PLC members in the West Bank and passing laws within the Israeli Knesset removing Palestinian-Israeli members' immunity under the pretense of spying for an enemy state.
Thirty-one detainees stood for the Palestinian general elections in January 2006, with 15 becoming members of the PLC.
AL-KHALIL, (PIC)-- Israeli occupation forces (IOF) quelled on Saturday the Beit Ummar, Al-Khalil district, weekly march protesting the confiscation of the village land to build the "separation wall". The IOF command blocked Palestinian farmers from heading to their land, threatened with confiscation, and declared the area a closed military zone. Eyewitnesses said that the soldiers beat up the spokesman of the solidarity committee in the village while taking photos of the march while a Swedish activist was hit with a sonic bomb and dozens others were treated for breathing problems. They said that the soldiers detained the coordinator of the national committee against the wall and four others including a cameraman and two American and British activists. The march declared solidarity with the Palestinian child Yousef Abu Hashem, 17, who was detained by the IOF four months ago. The child contracted an unknown disease while in detention and the IOF won't reveal its nature and refuses to treat him.
Bil’in Popular Committee Against Wall and Settlements 3 February 2010
Mohammed Khatib of the Bil’in Popular Committee against the Wall and Settlements was released from jail on Wednesday night Feb. 3rd, 2010. The military had taken Khatib from his home in Bilin on January 28th for allegedly not complying with legal conditions from a arrest in 2009. He was released on a bail of 10,000 Israeli shekels, with the condition of not participating in any of the weekly protests. He must appear at the nearest Israeli police station every Friday between 12:00- 5:00pm.
The night of Khatib’s release, the Israeli military conducted their second raid of the month in Bilin Village. Ibrahim Burnat a resident of Bilin and activist against the wall was arrested in his home early Thursday morning, along with local photojournalist Hamde Abu Rahmeh and an international journalist who were documenting the invasion. Abu Rahmeh and the journalist were held at the Binyamin police station for approximately 12 hours until their release. The international journalist from the United States was released with the condition of not being allowed in the West Bank for 15 days with the threat of deportation if the condition was broken. Ibrahim Burnat remains in jail.
“The map of the closed area was unclear, the officer did not give us enough time to look at the map or understand the order. Then, we were not even allowed to leave the area if we wanted to, the military was surrounding the group of people who had come to document the situation. Hamde and I were arrested, cuffed, put in a military jeep, and recklessly driven out of the village and behind the apartheid fence. At this point we were both blindfolded and forced to sit without being allowed to go to the bathroom, drink water or call lawyers until about 5am. ” said the journalist after her release.
In January Jared Malsin a Jewish American journalist for the Palestinain Ma’an News Agency was denied re-entry to Israel and later deported. Days before, Eva Nováková, a Czech citizen, who took on the role of the International Solidarity Movement’s media coordinator was arrested from her home in Ramallah and later deported. In December, high school teacher and media coordinator Abdullah Abu Rahmeh of the he Bilin Popular committee was arrested and remains in jail.
The National and Islamic Forces and the Union of Palestinian Journalists, alongside the Popular Campaign to Free Writer and Journalist Ali Jaradat, held a protest in solidarity with the imprisoned Palestinian writer in Ramallah on January 23, 2009, calling for his release from administrative detention and highlighting his slow death in the prisons of the occupation as he struggles with several life-threatening diseases.
The protest, including a large number of journalists and writers, representatives of national and Islamic forces and human rights organizations, gathered in Manara Square in Ramallah. Comrade Abdel-Rahim Mallouh, Deputy General Secretary of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, addressed the rally, calling for international legal and human rights organizations to act to save the life of Ali Jaradat and all ill prisoners and, collectively, all of the Palestinian prisoners and detainees, demanding that all of the prisoners be freed.
Jamil Shehadeh, speaking on behalf of the National and Islamic Forces, reiterated the call for the release of all Palestinian prisoners from the jails of the occupation, and pledging to struggle until the liberation of all of them.
Naim Tubasi spoke on behalf of the Union of Palestinian Journalists, saying that writers and journalists stand behind their colleague Ali Jaradat, calling for a global humanitarian campaign for his release.
Click here for French translation
The Popular Campaign to Free Writer and Journalist Ali Jaradat issued an urgent call on January 20, 2010, to protect the life of imprisoned Palestinian writer and journalist Ali Jaradat. Jaradat, 57 years old, has been held repeatedly in administrative detention, with the most recent detention stretching from the time he was kidnapped from his home in Ramallah on April 22, 2008.
Despite the passage of nearly two years in administrative detention, said the Popular Campaign, he has not been charged or tried, and his detention has been extended repeatedly under the pretext of a "closed security file." Ali Jaradat is a writer and journalist, and a member of the Secretariat of the General Union of Palestinian Writers.
During this detention, he has been subjected to interrogation, cruelty and abuse, including medical misttreatment and neglect, particularly of his heart disease and coronary artery disease after the heart attack he suffered in the Ofer detention camp, during a prior period of administrative detention, in March 2004. Since that time, he must take medication on a daily basis.
He has developed chronic heart disease, diabetes and high blood pressure, which together have become life-threatening, particularly in conditions of imprisonment and detention. In mid-2008, his diabetes worsened and he must now take daily medication. The popular campaign noted that he has on multiple occasions, like many prisoners, been denied adequate medical care. In fact, he has not received a comprehensive medical examination in nearly two years.
Instead, he has been transfered to Ofer, Naqab, Eshel, Nafha, and Kedar prisons, all while under administrative detention, in extremely harsh conditions of transport, without charge or trial.
During his detention, he has been denied family visits with his wife and children, adding to his suffering.
His administrative detention has been extended once again, until March 1, 2010. The call urged all forces of freedom and social justice organizations to act to save the life of the struggling imprisoned writer and journalist Ali Jaradat, through all forms of pressure on the Israeli government, calling for his release, medical treatment and return to his family.
Village residents come together to plant olive trees
On 23 January, Israeli soldiers declared Palestinian land south of the Israeli settlement outpost Havot Ma’on (Hill 833) a closed military zone, then arrested a Palestinian journalist from Pal Media. The journalist was reporting on a demonstration organized by Palestinians from the village of At-Tuwani after the recent destruction of an olive grove. Despite the Israeli military interventions, the Palestinians successfully planted 20 olive trees during their demonstration.
While Palestinian farmers, accompanied by internationals, were planting olive trees, fifteen settlers approached the area, some carrying slingshots. Israeli soldiers and police also entered the area. The soldiers informed the Palestinians that the area was a closed military zone, showing them a map that encompassed a large area south of Havat Ma’on outpost. Police arrested the journalist, saying he had violated the closed military zone order.
At-Tuwani residents organized the demonstration in response to recent property damage. On the afternoon of 14 January, Palestinians discovered that a family-owned olive grove in Khoruba valley had been destroyed. Twenty mature olive trees were broken at their trunks. The family believes that Israeli settlers from the Ma’on settlement and Havot Ma’on outpost are responsible for the vandalism. This is the fifth time since 1997 that settlers have destroyed the olive trees in this grove. This most recent attack on Palestinian agriculture follows a month of Israeli settler violence and harassment aimed at preventing Palestinian farmers from plowing their fields and thus earning their livelihoods. In addition, in recent months, Israeli military have consistently used closed military zone orders to prevent Palestinians from working their lands.
Nablus – Ma’an – Israeli forces detained three journalists in separate incidents across the West Bank, as they complied news reports near settlements on Saturday.
Al-Quds TV representatives said that a journalist and a cameraman were detained near the illegal settlement of Ariel, south of Nablus.
Correspondent for Al-Quds TV Mus'ab Al-Khatib, 25, and Ahmad Al-Kilani, 23, who works for Pal Media, were arrested whilst preparing a news report about a university near the settlement that was recognized recently by Israeli authorities.
Meanwhile, Israeli soldiers detained a Pal Media journalist on Saturday reporting on a demonstration organized by farmers from the At-Tuwani village to protest the recent destruction of an olive grove near the Israeli settlement outpost of Havot Ma'on, the Christian Peacemaking Team said in a statement.
" While Palestinian farmers, accompanied by internationals, were planting olive trees, fifteen settlers approached the area, some carrying slingshots," the statement read.
"Israeli soldiers and police also entered the area. The soldiers informed the Palestinians that the area was a closed military zone, showing them a map that encompassed a large area south of Havat Ma'on outpost. Police arrested the journalist, saying he had violated the closed military zone order."
Bethlehem – Ma'an – Upon landing in New York on Thursday, Ma'an News Agency's Jared Malsin, a US citizen, said Interior Ministry staff pressured him into dropping a legal challenge against his deportation order just two hours after his lawyer left for the day.
After signing a hand-written letter that Malsin said he believed was a "formality," ministry staff sent the paper to District Judge Kobi Vardi, who had presided over Malsin's case, and the judge decided to lift the stay of deportation order.
A motion from Ma'an attorney Castro Daoud, requesting that his client's hearing continue in his absence, was filed and pending decision as the ruling to expel the journalist was made.
Malsin was subsequently placed onto an El Al flight to New York. "None of this was my decision," he emphasized in a phone interview minutes after arriving at John F. Kennedy International Airport early Thursday morning local time, rejecting reports that he left Israel voluntarily. "There's no such thing as a voluntary deportation. I was deported, period."
Hours earlier, in an armored car en route to the plane, Malsin said he was unaware there were legal implications to the paper. "I had no idea I was waving anything, no clue," he said, explaining how Interior Ministry officials coerced him into creating a legal document to withdraw his case without an attorney present, and offered a misleading explanation over what he was signing.
The document apparently indicated Malsin was leaving the facility "without personal coercion." But Malsin said he was under the impression that the papers he signed would allow him to simply leave the airport while his case continued in Israel.
Indeed, Daoud had filed such a motion in Tel Aviv shortly before Malsin was instructed to sign the papers. Justice Vardi had called for a hearing on Malsin's case on Tuesday, and when no date was set for the proceedings by the afternoon, Malsin and Daoud decided to seek permission for him to leave the detention center as the hearing went forward. Daoud had previously indicated concern that Malsin's case was being dragged out, putting pressure on the journalist to leave before a legal decision was made.
In an e-mail from Malsin to Ma'an staff sent upon his arrival to his parents' home in New Hampshire, he said, about the paper, "I thought it was a formality. In retrospect I wish I hadn't signed it. I believe the prison guards were extremely manipulative, misleading, mendacious in the way they dealt with me," he said, but "I'm just so relieved to be out."
Israel's explanation
Malsin's deportation was met with mixed reactions from Israeli officials.
Interior Ministry spokeswoman Sabine Hadad told The Associated Press that Malsin raised security suspicions during an investigation upon his arrival. Hadad told the AP it was for these reasons that Malsin was being deported.
Then she told Israel's Hebrew-language Yedioth Ahronoth that he had voluntarily left Israel, adding, "I guess he didn't like it [detention] and chose to leave the country."
Allegations of Malsin being a security risk were made even at the start of the deportation process, with documents alleging Malsin's failure to cooperate with Israeli intelligence officers constituting such a threat.
The same day Hadad told the AP Malsin was a security threat, however, she was quoted by Reuters and the Washington Post as denying Malsin was refused a visa for political or security reasons.
Both rationales fit with some of the allegations in the court documents filed by the attorney general, but neither explanation took the full range of charges into account. Among the Interior Ministry's complaints were that Malsin had authored articles "inside the [Palestinian] territories," including some "criticizing the State of Israel."
Early in Malsin's detention, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's spokesman, Mark Regev, told the BBC that the allegations Malsin was being held because of his status as a journalist were "absurd."
Support for Malsin's case
While Regev denied Malsin's deportation had anything to do with journalism, international press associations condemned the detention as a violation of press freedom from the beginning.
"We condemn this intolerable violation of press freedom," said Aidan White, the head of the International Federation of Journalists, the largest union of media professionals worldwide.
"The ban of entry in this case appears to be as a reprisal measure for the journalist's independent reporting and that is unacceptable," he said. "This kind of interference has no place in a democracy."
For the first time in a week, journalist Jared Malsin was allowed to use his mobile phone on Wednesday morning to inform Ma'an that he was being placed onto an El Al flight to New York.
He sounded shaken and confused. He said he did not know why he was not being flown to Prague, where he was expected to be sent, saying only that flying there "would create problems." He said he was in an armored vehicle that was transporting him to the airport gate.
On Tuesday, Tel Aviv District Judge Kobi Vardi ordered that a hearing be scheduled to consider the Israeli Ministry of the Interior's decision to deport the journalist. Following the call, lawyer Castro Daoud went to the airport detention facility where Malsin has been kept for the past week to deliver the news.
At about 2:30 pm, Daoud left the detention center and filed a motion requesting that Jared be permitted to leave the country while the hearing and case proceed in his absence. As the Attorney General's Office insisted that Malsin not be permitted to attend his hearing, Daoud argued that it was no longer necessary to keep him confined to his cell in the detention center.
At about 4:30pm, staff from the US Embassy in Tel Aviv notified Malsin’s parents in the US state of New Hampshire that he would be on the next flight to Prague, even though Justice Vardi had not ruled on Daoud’s motion to let Malsin travel and still pursue the case.
At about 7:30pm, Daoud expressed shock after he received notification that a motion was signed by Malsin requesting his deportation challenge be annulled. Justice Vardi has closed the case on Malsin’s deportation order one week after it was filed.
Ma’an is deeply concerned that there was no lawyer present when Malsin apparently filed this independent motion, which was sent from the Ministry of the Interior and not his legal representative, who had just left. It is inexplicable that Malsin would knowingly drop the legal challenge after his first major success.
Without jumping to conclusions, Ma’an wants to be sure these events did not take place under duress, and is consequently concerned that Malsin’s lawyer and parents were prevented from reaching him during the 24 hours before the deportation to clarify what happened between 2:30 and 4:30pm on Tuesday afternoon.
Sunday morning (around 10:00 am) Jared’s lawyer will file his case in front of Judge Kobi Vardi at the Tel Aviv Central District Court. The Attorney General will file his case and the judge will ask questions etc. He will proceed in one of two ways.
1) Make a decision regarding Jared's case - a - deport him or -b - demand his release and entry into Israel
2) Call for a hearing, to be scheduled later in the day
He may or may not request Jared to be present during that hearing. As soon as we know we will alert everyone.
NOW: We are doing our best to get as many people as possible to the court. The lawyer said that A STRONG PRESENCE THERE WILL BE A GOOD THING for Jared. Therefore we urge each and everyone that has access to Tel Aviv to be present at The Tel Aviv Central District Court, #1 Weizmann Street by the office of Judge Kobi Vardi.
Please continue to check the Ma’an website www.maannews.net/eng/ for updates, which will be published as they become available. Condemnations are pouring in from international media NGOs like Reporters Without Borders, the Committee to Protect Journalists, and others, and these are also being published on the website. Background is still available at http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=253864.
After consultation with lawyers and colleagues, we are stressing the following points:
Jared is a journalist with Ma’an News Agency (www.maannews.net/eng), an independent Palestinian media organization that is respected globally as a prime source for accurate, impartial information and professional reporting on events in the Palestinian territories. However, the Israeli authorities refuse to recognize any Palestinian media organizations or grant them official press status. It has thus been impossible for Jared (as for all other Ma’an employees and journalists) to obtain a press card from the Israeli Government Press Office (GPO), or for Ma’an’s foreign employees to obtain work visas, though we have made multiple attempts.
- Ma’an has received financial support from numerous foreign donors and international organizations, including the US government through its Middle East Partnership Initiative (MEPI), the UK Department for International Development, and UNESCO. (For a fuller list, see the Ma’an Network website at www.maannet.org, particularly under ‘Projects’.) Ma’an is also a member of various international media/journalist networks, and is an important source for reporting on the OPT by organizations such as Reuters, AP, the BBC, New York Times, Ha’aretz, Yediot Ahronot, etc. etc. Thus, although the Israeli government refuses to recognize Ma’an or grant its employees official status as journalists, our work is recognized and supported in different ways by various countries/bodies/organizations, including the US government and Israeli media outlets. This is reflected in the numerous statements of support received from major media NGOs like Reporters Without Borders, the Committee to Protect Journalists, and the International Press Institute, and international organizations like UNESCO (see www.maannews.net/en).
- It is clear from the statements filed by the Israeli immigration and Ministry of Interior that Israeli authorities are detaining and seeking to deport Jared for his professional reporting and political views. We are trying to stress that Jared is a professional reporter (not an activist), and is in no way a “security threat” to the State of Israel – he has merely engaged in reporting events on the ground through an impartial, independent, internationally-respected media organization. It seems the Israeli authorities’ main problem is that this media organization (Ma’an) also happens to be Palestinian.
- The US consulate has ensured that Jared's immediate physical needs are met. However, they are totally ignoring the fact that he was denied his rights as a member of the press. They are dealing with his case as if he were only an American citizen, but it is as a journalist that he came to Israel and the OPT, not just as a US citizen. They should therefore acknowledge him as a professional journalist whose right to report and work is being violated, and deal with his case accordingly.
Bethlehem - Ma'an - The editor in chief of Ma'an English, Jared Malsin, was temporarily spared deportation after an Israeli judge in Tel Aviv reversed an overruled injunction filed by lawyers representing the Bethlehem-based news agency late Wednesday night.
Malsin was detained at Israel's Ben Gurion International Airport on Tuesday afternoon while returning from the Czech Republic on holiday. After eight hours of interrogation, the Israeli Interior Ministry ordered him held and scheduled deportation for 6am on Thursday.
Ma'an attorney Castro Daoud intervened amid pressure from US diplomats seeking an injunction against the deportation. The request was rejected by the Israeli attorney general, whose own ruling was then overturned by a Tel Aviv District Court, granting Malsin a hearing. Judge Miriam Sokolov will hear Malsin's case at 10am at the Tel Aviv District Court. A verdict is expected by noon.
Hebrew-language interrogation transcripts obtained by Ma'an reveal that Malsin was deemed a security risk on the apparent basis of his political beliefs. Interrogators gathered online research into the journalist's writing history, which the transcripts indicate included news stories "criticizing the State of Israel," among other allegations that he "authored articles inside the territories."
The security agents questioned why Malsin would have entered the West Bank if he were truly interested in becoming an Israeli citizen, say he "claimed to be Jewish," and allege that "he exploited his Jewishness to gain entry into the State of Israel." Among the specific grounds for detaining him were "lying to border officials," "here illegally," and "entered Israel by means of lies."
Shortly after it became clear why Malsin was actually detained, the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), a media rights organization, issued a scathing statement denouncing the the detention and calling on Israel to reverse its decision.
"Israel cannot hide behind the pretext of security to sideline journalists who have done nothing more than maintain an editorial line that the authorities dislike," said Mohamed Abdel Dayem, the CPJ's program coordinator for the Middle East and North Africa. "Israel should release Jared Malsin without delay and allow him to resume his work," the statement concluded.
Meanwhile, Israeli officials have refused to publicly acknowledge Malsin's presence at the airport or anywhere else.
Nablus – Ma'an – The Palestinian Media Coalition denounced the seizure of Palestinian journalist Serri Sammour from his home in Jenin on Monday.
Sammour was detained just two days after Israeli forces took female journalist Ghufran Zamil from Al-'Ein Refugee Camp, as well as Muhammad Muna from Nablus.
The coalition named six other Palestinian journalists who were in Israeli custody: Walid Khalid, Nizar Ramadan, Muhammad Al-Qeiq, Amjad Shawamra, Husam Badran, and Sami 'Asi, all from the West Bank
Ramallah / PNN - Israeli forces have detained a Palestinian television crew at a checkpoint in Ramallah.
The flying checkpoint was imposed at the northern entrance to the central West Bank city.
Occupying Israeli soldiers at the checkpoint have confiscated equipment belonging to the crew: Nizar Habash, Nadia Sarsour, Ibrahim Badwan, Khaled Melhem and Suleiman Abu Surur are being detained.
Hundreds of cars are unable to move through the barrier with entrance and exit in and out of Ramallah currently banned.
Gaza / PNN – The Al Jazeera cameraman arrested by Israeli forces off the coast of Gaza has been released.
Yemen national Mansour Al Abi was aboard the humanitarian aid boat “Spirit of Humanity” recording the mission to break the siege on Gaza when it was hijacked by the Israeli navy last Tuesday. He was finally released from Israeli prison yesterday.
The Israel-based bureau chief of Al Jazeera, Majid Khader, reported that Al Abi had been under pressure to say he had willingly and illegally entered Israeli boundaries. “But they did not enter Israel illegally,” he said. “They were aboard the Spirit of Humanity covering an operation heading for Gaza. They were forced to come ashore.”
Israeli naval ships surrounded the boat as it passed from international to Gaza waters, boarded, and arrested the 21 people on board, including the Al Jazeera cameraman, leaving them no choice but to be taken into Israeli boundaries at gunpoint.
Yemeni authorities had been negotiating with Israel and neighboring countries to secure Al Abi’s release.
His colleague, Al Jazeera reporter Othman Al Battiri, was released and deported to Jordan on Sunday. Al Abi is one of the last “Spirit of Humanity” passengers to be released.
Trade Union calls
Ahead of Al Abi’s release a gathering of Trade Unions yesterday condemned his imprisonment and called for aid to be allowed into the Gaza strip.
The location of the ship’s cargo of aid is still unknown though the occupying administration has said some of it may be sent on to Gaza, subject to security clearance.
The trade union meeting described the arrests and withholding of aid as part of a continuing series of violations against the people of Gaza. They called on trade unions, international institutions and the United Nations to put pressure on the Israelis to lift the blockade and comply with the Geneva Conventions.
Ramallah / PNN - Khader Shaheen and Mohamamd Sarhan remain under house arrest as their case is appealed in Israeli court.
Al Alam TV’s director in the West Bank, Faris Sarafendi said that the court actually sentenced the journalists to two months imprisonment and six months suspended imprisonment. The defense is appealing the sentencing to the Israeli high court. In the meantime Shaheen and Sarhan remain under house arrest until the court makes a decision.
The Palestinian Center for Development and Media Freedoms (MADA) issued a condemnation today of the Israeli district Court's decision in the city of Jerusalem, to imprison Al Alam TV correspondent Khader Shaheen and producer Mohamed Sarhan.
The journalists were arrested on 5 January this year while covering the major Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip: the Israelis said they should not be allowed to publish information on the movement of the army.
Sarhan and Shaheen were released from prison on 15 January but have remained under house arrest and are banned from working per a decision of the Israeli District Court.
Sabr is a blog created by international activists while they were in Gaza Strip in 2009 in order to raise awareness on the issue of Palestinian prisoners.It regularly compiles articles from various sources on Palestinian prisoners (and foreign prisoners for the Palestinian cause) in Israeli (or foreign) jails.
Disclaimer: Opinions expressed in articles reproduced from other sources, do not necessarily reflect the ones of Sabr
The five journalists come from across the West Bank and work for a wide variety of Arab media agencies. Their names are: Walid Khalid (‘Palestine’ newspaper), Nawaf Al-Amer (‘Al-Quds’ television), Samer Allawi (‘Al-Jazeera’, a satellite news channel), Osaid Amarneh (‘Al-Aqsa’ television) and Amer Abu Arafeh (‘Shab’ news agency). 
