Palestinian Journalists Intimidating Israeli Counterparts

Palestinian journalists are leading a campaign of media intimidation against Israeli journalists, many of whom have been reporting on the situation in Judea and Samaria (the West Bank) and Gaza for years.  That's the finding of Israeli-Arab journalist Khaled Abu Toameh in a new Gatestone Institute report.

In an article titled, "Who is Threatening Israeli Journalists and Why?," Toameh asserts that Israeli broadcast and print journalists who used to travel frequently to Palestinian areas to interview ordinary people and their leaders now rarely go there.

The author cites an example of a journalist from Israel's Channel 2 who was expelled last year from Ramallah, the seat of the Palestinian government.  The reporter and crew had come to cover a rally in support of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.  "According to Palestinian sources," Toameh wrote, "the Israeli TV crew members were threatened by 'activists' belonging to the Palestinian 'anti-normalization' movement."

Earlier this year, the Palestinian Journalists Syndicate (PJS) called for a boycott of Israel's media, and also threatened to boycott any official who even talks to the Israeli press. The PJS accused Israel's reporters of being a "mouthpiece for the occupation (Israel's government) and justifying its crimes against the Palestinian people.  One Israeli journalist said, "When I see my Palestinian colleagues in the field, I hide. I am afraid they will see me and incite people against me."

Toameh quotes an Israeli who has been traveling for ten years to the Palestinian areas as saying, "It's very sad when you see that your colleagues on the other side are inciting against you and doing their best to prevent you from carrying out your work.  This is harmful to the Palestinians themselves because they will no longer be able to relay their opinions to the Israeli public."

Communications are now often confined to press conferences by Fatah officials who speak Hebrew fluently and who have a particular message they want to relay to Israel.

In the late '80's and early '90's, Israeli and Palestinian routinely used to go out in the field to produce stories together.  But the signing of the Oslo accords leading to the "peace process" in 1993 has led to "the utter collapse of relations among Palestinian and Israeli journalists," according to Toameh.  He added, "And how predictable:  the very radicalization that the Palestinian Authority has foisted upon its people, poisoning their minds with lies and inciting young and old against Israel, has penetrated the journalistic ranks."

Toameh concludes that many Western journalists are silent on the situation, perhaps fearing that they could receive the same treatment for reporting negatively on conditions under the Palestinian Authority and Hamas rule. 

Toameh, who has written for years for The Jerusalem Post, had his Facebook page temporarily shut down in 2013 after reporting on corruption in the Palestinian Authority.  He has also received hate mail and repeated death threats.