HAMAS DETAINS PALI JOURNOS

I'M STILL WAITING FOR THE ISRAEL-BOYCOTTING BRITISH JOURNALISTS TO CONDEMN SUCH ACTIONS.

Hamas Detains Palestinian Journalists (CAMERA)
As if any more evidence was needed to disprove Abu Marzook's claim in the Los Angeles Times that Hamas treats journalists with "dignity," Ma'an reported yesterday:

The chairperson of the oversight and human rights committee in the Palestinian Legislative Council, Dr. Faisal Abu Shahla, condemned Hamas' Executive Forces for attacking press freedom in the Gaza Strip Monday. He said the Executive Forces had detained workers from three newspapers, Al Ayyam, Al Quds, and Al Hayyat Al Jadeedah, for three hours, describing the incident as "a dangerous act."

Earlier Monday, the Executive Force froze imports of newspapers in the Gaza Strip for an hour as a warning to end defamatory reports against Hamas in the press.

All Aboard for Hamas Press Tour (CAMERA)
Now that Hamas has the Op-Ed pages of major Western media outlets covered, it's moving on to the news reporters. Steve Gutkin of the Associated Press reports that yesterday Hamas took two busloads of journalists on a carefully orchestrated tour of the Gaza Strip.

SEE ALSO: Media Relations: A Good Cop/Bad Cop Approach (BackSpin)
Hamas took two busloads of journalists on a tour of the Gaza Strip. Stops included, among others, Gaza's Saraya prison, a Roman Catholic church, and the Rafah border crossing. We recommend AP coverage by Steve Gutkin.

The same day, Hamas moved against several pro-Fatah daily papers. The Jerusalem Post's Khaled Abu Toameh writes:

Palestinian journalists said thousands of copies from the three newspapers were seized by Hamas's paramilitary Executive Force on the Palestinian side of the Erez border crossing. The newspapers were taken aboard a truck to a Hamas security installation nearby in the town of Beit Hanan.

According to the journalists, six Palestinians working for the newspapers were detained by Hamas for questioning….

Islam Shahwan, spokesman for the Executive Force, announced that the move was aimed at sending a warning to the newspapers to stop inciting against his force and Hamas.

This isn't the first time Hamas has applied the good cop/bad cop routine to P.R.