FREEDOM OF THE PRESS, HAMAS STYLE

That Uneasy Feeling (BackSpin)
Cal Perry of CNN shares his thoughts on interviewing Hamas chief Khaled Meshaal:

Sitting in a room with the top Hamas leader -- a man Israel would prefer dead -- is not an easy feeling, knowing that at any second a missile could shatter the building, killing everyone inside, myself included.

Knowing the respect Hamas has for journalism in general and Alan Johnston in particular, we can understand why Perry would politely express a worry about Israel hitting a safehouse in Damascus. We can only wonder if he really meant it.

SEE ALSO: Press Freedom: Hamas Tightens the Screws (BackSpin)
As if being a journalist in Gaza was bad enough, AFP reports another turn of the screw on free reporting:

Hamas said on Monday it planned to enforce a 12-year-old Palestinian press law designed to silence dissident journalists, amid a crackdown that has raised fierce protests from the local media. . . .

The 1995 law, which was brought in under the late Yasser Arafat but never enforced, bans the publication of information likely to "endanger national unity, incite crimes or hatred, division and religious dissent."

It also prohibits publication of "secret information" about the police, security forces, their weapons, movements and training camps.

Those convicted risk six months in prison and the three-month suspension of the offending publication or media organisation. . . .

The Hamas statement also said the committee had the right to conduct raids against media outfits and bureaux and "to summon their members over issues relating to their work."

This will have a very chilling effect. For better or worse, the MSM relies heavily on Palestinian stringers in Gaza, whose lives and families will be at risk.

Related reading: Hamas Gunmen Become Media Watchdogs