The
International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) has today condemned the arrest of two Palestinian journalists from Gaza who are detained by Israeli military
authorities since 5 January 2009 .
"We
demand that these journalists who are being unlawfully detained are released
immediately," said Aidan White, IFJ
General Secretary. "Israel
has no legitimate reason to detain journalists who are neither on its soil nor
involved in fighting in Gaza."
According
to media reports, Khadir Shahin, journalist for Al-Alam TV and his producer
were arrested by Israeli soldiers on Monday 5 January 2009 and have since been
detained in unidentified location.
The
IFJ has condemned the attack on the building housing media offices including
Al-Alam TV last Friday 9 January by Israel's war planes.
"By
harassing journalists and media organisations who have escaped the ban on
foreign journalists to enter Gaza , Israel makes plain its intention to prevent
proper and objective coverage of the conflict in Gaza," added White. "The
situation speaks more about unashamed intimidation and manipulation of media than about
security consideration on the part of Israel."
The
IFJ yesterday called on the United Nations Secretary General to investigate violations of journalists' rights and other international law
provisions, especially the Security Council Resolution 1738 concerning the
protection of journalists and media personnel in conflict zones.
For more
information contact the IFJ at +32 2 235 2207
The IFJ
represents over 600,000 journalists in 123 countries worldwide
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