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Source: http://www.reuters.com/article/us-palestinians-media-clampdown-idUSKCN11P1E6
In Gaza and West Bank, Palestinian Journalists Fear Squeeze on Free Press
(Reuters) Nidal al-Mughrabi and Ali Sawafta - On Sept. 1, half a dozen Hamas security officials called at the home of Mohammed Othman, 29, a journalist in Gaza who had written several probing articles. After an intense interrogation and being slapped around, he was asked to sign a document promising not to criticize Hamas. Media monitoring and human rights groups say press freedom is under threat in the West Bank and Gaza, with both Hamas and Fatah increasingly wary of journalists and bloggers who write critically or seek to expose wrongdoing. "Both Palestinian governments, operating independently, have apparently arrived at similar methods of harassment, intimidation and physical abuse of anyone who dares criticize," Human Rights Watch said in a report in August. The Independent Commission for Human Rights reported that 24 people in the West Bank and 21 in Gaza were arrested in 2015 for criticizing Palestinian authorities or writing about forbidden topics.