Palestinian journalists protest crackdown on Hamas titles

Scores of Palestinian journalists staged a rally outside cabinet headquarters in Gaza to protest a recent Israeli decision to ban the printing and distribution of Gaza-based newspapers in the occupied West Bank.

Journalists also protested a crackdown by Palestinian authorities in the West Bank on Gazan newspaper distributors.  

"Is this how those who expose the crimes of the [Israeli] occupation should be rewarded?" read one of the banners carried by journalists taking part in the protest, which was organized by the Palestinian Journalists' Guild.

Three Gaza-based newspapers have traditionally been distributed in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.

Late last month, Israeli authorities forbade the printing and distribution of Gaza-based newspapers in the West Bank, saying that they "incited" against Israel.

The new Israeli measures specifically targeted the Palestine, al-Resalah and al-Estqlal newspapers.

"We call on the Interior Ministry in the West Bank to allow for more freedoms," Yunis Abu Grad, deputy head of the Palestinian Journalists' Guild, said at a conference convened on the sidelines of the protest.

News group stops printing Hamas titles

The Palestinian newspaper group al-Ayyam said Thursday that it had stopped printing titles run by Islamist group Hamas after receiving a series of warnings from the Israeli army.

The group which is based in the West Bank, has stopped printing and distributing Hamas newspapers Falastin, Al-Resala and Al-Istiqlal, its managing editor Abdel Nasser al-Najjar told AFP.

The decision followed a phone call late Wednesday from the Israeli army, threatening to close al-Ayyam's offices if it did not stop publishing the papers, he said.

The army had no immediate comment.

Israeli soldiers raided Al-Ayyam's offices last month and issued similar threats.

Al-Ayyam has been printing the three papers since April, when a surprise reconciliation deal between the Hamas rulers of Gaza and its Fatah rivals brought the Islamist group's publications back to West Bank newsstands.

In April, Hamas and the Palestine Liberation Organisation - which Fatah dominates - unveiled a reconciliation deal under which they formed a merged administration for the West Bank and Gaza last week for the first time in seven years.

That was seized upon by Israel, which said it would not negotiate with any Palestinian government backed by Hamas, putting the final nail in the coffin of the latest round of US-brokered peace talks.

In a separate crackdown on Palestinian media, Israeli police raided the Jerusalem studios of Palestine TV on Friday and briefly detained three staff for questioning.

Israeli public radio said police suspected Palestine TV of broadcasting "incitements to violence".