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Threat of Violence Silences Palestinian Journalists
(Al-Monitor) Asmaa al-Ghoul - A late 2014 study by the Palestinian Center for Development and Media Freedoms found that 80% of Palestinian journalists in the West Bank and Gaza practice self-censorship of their writing. Journalist Ghazi Bani Odeh, who conducted the survey, "The Official Media and Freedom of Expression," told Al-Monitor that attacks and harassment are the main causes leading journalists to censor themselves. "There is no difference between the violations [against journalists] committed in the West Bank and those committed in Gaza, as journalists are equally suppressed, thus leading them to examine every word they write." Mohammed Othman, a freelance journalist who writes for Al-Monitor, was physically assaulted and threatened at the headquarters of the Popular Resistance Committees (PRC) on Jan. 5 for publishing a report about the killing of people accused of collaborating with Israel during the 2014 war. According to Fathi Sabah, who writes for Al-Hayat, there is a policeman in the mind of every Palestinian journalist in the West Bank and Gaza.