December 28, 21-year-old journalism student Shatha Al-Sabbagh was killed near her home in Jenin. Her family accused Sniper from the Palestinian Administration (Pa) arranged at the camp of shooting her in the head. Al-Sabbagh was active on social media, documenting the suffering of Jenin residents during the raids of Israel and Pa.
Just a few days after the assassination of al-Sabbagh, authorities in Ramallah prohibited Al Jazeera from the reported western coast. Three weeks later, the forces were arrested by Al Jazeere Mohamada’s correspondents’ correspondents.
These events come because Israeli occupation killed more than 200 media workers in Gaza and arrested dozens on occupied Palestinian territories. She also banned Al Jazeera and refused to allow foreign journalists to enter Gaza. The fact that the procedures and mirrors of Israel reveal a common plan to control independent journalism and control public opinion.
Palestinian journalists, this is difficult news. Well, he was never our protector. He has always been a memory partner in our brutalization. This is true on the west coast and it was true in Gaza when he was in power. I witnessed myself.
Growing up in Gaza, I watched my people oppressed Israeli forces and pa. In 1994, the Israeli occupation officially handed over the railroad to manage in accordance with the provisions of the Oslo Agreement. So he remained in power until 2007. During those 13 years, we have seen more collaboration with Israeli occupation than any significant attempt to release. For journalists, the presence of Pa was not only conflicting, but life-threatening, because his forces actively stifled voices to maintain a fragile grip of power.
As a student of journalism in Gaza, I experienced firsthand this suppression. I walked through the streets, witnessing safety officers and -a who rob trade, their arrogance reads in a brave act of theft. One day, when I tried to document it, the Palestinian officer violently grabbed me, pulled my camera out of my hands and broke it to the ground. This is not just an attack, but it was an attack on my right to witness. The officer’s aggression only ceased when a group of women intervened, forcing him to withdraw at a rare time of restraint.
I knew the risks to be a journalist in Gaza and like other media workers, I learned to move them. But the fear I felt near the session points of power, so it is unlike anything else. This was because there was never a logic for their aggressive action and there is no way to predict when they could include you.
Walking close and the force felt as if stepped into a minefield. At one point, there was an illusion of security, and the other faced the brutality of those who were allegedly there to protect you. This insecurity and tension made their presence scary than on the battlefield.
Years later, I would cover the Qassam Brigade training under the permanent lame of Israeli drones and a constant threat to air strikes. It was dangerous but predictable – much more than procedures pa.
We learned to speak under the code. Journalists are self -ranging from fear of retaliation. So he was often referred to as “the relatives of Israel’s occupation” – the gloomy recognition of his complicity.
While he was fighting to stay in power in Gaza after losing the Hamas election in 2006, his brutality escalated. In May 2007, armed people in the uniforms of the Presidential Guard were killed by journalist Suleiman Abdul-Rahim al-Ashi and media worker Mohammad Matar Abdo. It was a execution that had to be sent a clear message to those who witnessed.
When Hamas took power, his government also imposed restrictions on the freedom of the press, but his censorship was inconsistent. Once, as I documented the division of a new police woman, it was ordered to show my photos to Hamas officer so he could censor every picture he considered to be unskilled. I often managed to bypass these limitations by preventing the memory card preventively.
The officers did not like anyone to overcome orders, but instead of direct punishment, they resorted to small games of power – investigations, deprived approaches or unnecessary provocations. Unlike Pa, Hamas did not operate in the system of coordination with Israeli forces on the suppression of journalism, but restrictive journalists confronted the environment of uncertainty and self-certs. Every violation for its part, however, has encountered a quick international condemnation – something RA is rarely confronted with, despite a far more systematic repression.
After losing control of Gaza, so he directed the focus on the west coast, enhancing his campaign of media suppressing. Revelation, violent conflicts and muffling of critical voices have become common. Their collaboration with Israel was not passive; It was active. From supervision to the campaign of violence, they play a key role in maintaining the status quo, suffocating any disagreement that causes their power and interest.
In 2016, an agreement and became even more apparent when they coordinated with Israeli authorities arresting a distinguished journalist and proponent for freedom of Omara Nazzal print, who criticized Ramallah for managing the suspicious murder Bulgaria.
In 2017, he launched a intimidation campaign, arresting five journalists from different outlets.
In 2019, the Palestinian administration blocked the Quds News Network website, a media outlet under the leadership of young people who gained huge popularity. This was part of a a broader prohibition Imposed by the court of Ramallah, who blocked access to 24 other news and social media pages.
In 2021, after the violent death of Nizar Banat’s activist in custody, so, prompted protests, her forces sought to break Journalists and the media covering them.
In this context, the prospect of returning to Gaza after an agreement on the interruption of fire causes serious concern for journalists who have already withstanding the horrors of the genocide. For those who survived, this could mean a new chapter of repression that reflects the history of censorship, arrest and suffocation of freedom for printing.
Despite the serious threats that Palestinian journalists face from Israel and those who pretend to represent the Palestinian people, they persevere. Their work goes beyond the boundaries, reflecting a joint fight against tyranny. Their resistance speaks not only to the Palestinian matter, but also the broader struggle for liberation, justice and dignity.
The views expressed in this article are the author’s and do not reflect the editorial position of Al Jazeere.
