Journalists still not allowed into Gaza on Day Seven of unprecedented Israeli attack
Marian Houk
January 02, 2009
No journalists were allowed into Gaza again on Friday, despite an interim decision by the Israeli Supreme Court (or High Court of Justice) on Thursday that the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) should indeed allow small numbers of foreign journalists (not Israelis, who are now barred from Gaza by a separate decision) to enter the blockaded, isolated, and bombarded Gaza Strip.
The FPA expressed dismay.
Thursday's interim Court decision was that the foreign journalists should be organized into reporting "pools" -- and allowed to enter the Gaza Strip, at least when the Erez crossing to and from Gaza is open for passage of humanitarian cases, and when security conditions permit. The reports pf the journalists admitted under this new interim "pool" arrangement are supposed to be distributed to members of the Foreign Press Association (FPA) in Israel for use in their reporting.
The FPA reported to its members on Thursday that "We originally asked for 12 based on a formula which would cover two TV's (two-man crew) Print, Stills and Radio. We have to cater to ALL our members and ALL language groups. The State agreed to eight people, we appealed for 4 more". That was not accepted by the Court on Friday morning.
In addition, the conditions demanded by the IDF -- and largely granted by the Israeli High Court which generally does tend to align itself with the country's military and security decisions -- would appear to some degree to make the journalists "embedded" in the on-going Israeli military operation in Gaza.
The FPA informed its members that LOGISTICS for the proposed "pool" arrangement, as required by the State, are as follows:
1.On any given day the FPA will be informed that the crossing MAY be opened the following day. The FPA has to then provide the CLA [the IDF's Coordination and Liaison Administration] with a list of members for that day.
2. The list will be cleared and the Coordinator's office will DIRECTLY contact the people designated for that day telling them where to be and when with SHORT notice due to what they call "security considerations".
3. For the same considerations NO LIST WILL BE MADE PUBLIC AT ALL until after the members are inside. [If the LIST is going to be made public after the journalists enter Gaza, there should be some greater concern for their security while inside Gaza. There have been a few kidnappings of journalists inside Gaza, and BBC Correspondent Alan Johnson spent a difficult four month's in captivity in Gaza last year. Hamas eventually forced his release from another smaller faction.]
4. The same security considerations are fluid and can change even when the members are on the way to the crossing meaning that even if you think you're going in, this may not happen.
5. The FPA has undertaken to inform the members who are inside Gaza of the day and time they have to collect back at the crossing in order to come back - the crossing will not be opened for single people to cross when it suits them.
6. This procedure will continue for as long as the current situation exists.
Reminder: our petition for unfettered access is still pending and will be dealt with at a later date.
The Israeli operation has been carried out so far by air and naval attacks, and is now in its seventh day. A large-scale ground invasion may or may not be imminent, and is awaited with growing tension. Over 400 Palestinians have been killed in the past week in Gaza, and more than 2000 injured. Rocket and missile fire from Gaza is also continuing to hit Israeli communities in a 60-mile radius around the northern Gaza Strip.
Previously, journalists were able to operate independently inside Gaza, after passing through the formerly-open Erez border crossing.
Since early November, foreign journalists who were previously given nearly unconditional access to the Gaza Strip, have found themselves barred from entry much more often than not -- and the FPA petitioned the Supreme Court to restore press access.
In an UPDATE TO MEMBERS sent on Friday, the FPA reported that:
1. The court has ordered the state to allow entry for 8 (eight) foreign journalists per time with the proviso that if its possibie at any given time, they will allow in 12.
2. Since the original petition is to allow in the "foreign media", the State now insists they will take 6 from the FPA list and let in TWO of their choosing of the "foreigners who have come from abroad" - i.e. not FPA members.
3. The FPA will submit lists of 8 and 12 people every time, those who do not get in will be carried over to the next time.
4. If the army choses to let in other journalists from outside the FPA list, the FPA will not be responsible for pooling their material, which, following the court order, should be distributed to everyone. We see this as the responsablity of the State.
5. Members who have registered to go in should please send their passport numbers, GPO cards and mobile phone numbers by return mail.
6. YOU WILL BE INFORMED BY PHONE AT SHORT NOTICE WHEN IT IS YOUR TURN TO GO IN.
7 . THE FPA PHONE HAS TO BE CLEAR FOR COORDINATION WITH THE AUTHORITIES - CONTACT ON e-mail ONLY.
Separately, the FPA issued several statements on Friday:
1.) The Foreign Press Association while pleased with the decision of the Israeli High Court to allow limited access to Gaza for foreign journalists, expresses its serious concern about the requirements to use the mechanism of pools which themselves have now been scaled back. We believe the Israeli Government should ensure unfettered access for the world's media to Gaza during this crisis. The FPA declares that it will be responsible exclusively for pool material of its members as submitted on the FPA list.
2.) The FPA expresses its dismay over the Israeli government's refusal to allow entry to the Gaza strip for foreign media on Friday, despite the Supreme Court decision requiring it to do so and despite the fact that the Erez crossing was open for humanitarian traffic for most of the day. The authorities' position that there was not enough time to coordinate and allow the journalists to enter does not seem reasonable. We call on the Israeli government to immediately honor the will of the court and allow foreign journalists access to Gaza.
3.) The FPA is appalled by the IDF attack on a Reuters photographer today in Hebron [n.b. in the West Bank, apparently while covering a demonstration against the attacks in Gaza] and by the PA police arresting journalists and cameramen covering a Hamas demonstration in Ramallah. The FPA insists that journalists be allowed free and unfettered access to cover newsworthy events at all times and under all circumstances.
The Foreign Press Association
www.fpa.org.il
Meanwhile, the IDF is apparently quite pleased with the press coverage of Israel's unprecedented attacks on Gaza over the past week by air and sea -- a ground invasions may or may not be imminent.
The Jerusalem Post reported Friday that IDF officials "feel the coverage has been mostly fair".
Maj. Avital Leibovich, head of the foreign press department in the IDF Spokesman's Unit, told the JPost: "I'm surprised for the better. The coverage has been balanced on most channels, even on some outlets not known for being pro-Israel ... The world understands Israel has a right to defend itself, and has to respond to the rocket fire," she said.
Apparently, the IDF now regards blogs, the internet, and new media as important in their battle for public opinion, and, the JPost reports, "the IDF has been in regular contact with over 50 major American blogs covering the fighting".
While that's a start, but there are probably a few more American blogs, and there are probably blogs in other countries as well ...
In any case, the JPost report adds that "The IDF has spent the past six months learning to fight a different kind of media war, developing a capacity to take its message to the 'new media,' a general term for a wide variety of on-line social networking, user-generated news and personalized content sites. 'In terms of communicating our message, new media is the future', Brig.-Gen. Avi Benayahu, the IDF's spokesman, told The Jerusalem Post. Benayahu has overseen a new orientation in the spokesman's unit toward these on-line outlets, even taking his unit's senior officers to an intensive new media workshop at the Interdisciplinary Center, Herzliya in mid-2008. This has translated into a profusion of new initiatives across the Internet. A YouTube channel established by the IDF a day after the fighting began has become the second-most popular channel on the popular global video-sharing site, drawing over 386,000 page views in the first half of Thursday alone ... 'The new media lets you present your content at all times on all existing platforms, so it's there when the consumer wants to see it', explains Lt.-Col. Dinor Shavit, commander of the Filming Unit in the IDF Spokesman's Unit [and] coordinator for the dissemination of the 23 videos and 48 still photos the IDF has released to the world so far".
The JPost adds that "The coordination and dissemination of information to journalists and - through the internet - the wider world, has replaced the traditional wartime press conference held regularly by the IDF Spokesperson's Unit during the 2006 Second Lebanon War. Instead, IDF spokespeople are in direct real-time communication with journalists and offer quiet background briefings to Israeli officials, media and foreign reporters. 'An army has to fight, not to spend its time in front of television cameras', insists Benayahu".
This article on the IDF and the new media can be seen in full here .
The FPA expressed dismay.
Thursday's interim Court decision was that the foreign journalists should be organized into reporting "pools" -- and allowed to enter the Gaza Strip, at least when the Erez crossing to and from Gaza is open for passage of humanitarian cases, and when security conditions permit. The reports pf the journalists admitted under this new interim "pool" arrangement are supposed to be distributed to members of the Foreign Press Association (FPA) in Israel for use in their reporting.
The FPA reported to its members on Thursday that "We originally asked for 12 based on a formula which would cover two TV's (two-man crew) Print, Stills and Radio. We have to cater to ALL our members and ALL language groups. The State agreed to eight people, we appealed for 4 more". That was not accepted by the Court on Friday morning.
In addition, the conditions demanded by the IDF -- and largely granted by the Israeli High Court which generally does tend to align itself with the country's military and security decisions -- would appear to some degree to make the journalists "embedded" in the on-going Israeli military operation in Gaza.
The FPA informed its members that LOGISTICS for the proposed "pool" arrangement, as required by the State, are as follows:
1.On any given day the FPA will be informed that the crossing MAY be opened the following day. The FPA has to then provide the CLA [the IDF's Coordination and Liaison Administration] with a list of members for that day.
2. The list will be cleared and the Coordinator's office will DIRECTLY contact the people designated for that day telling them where to be and when with SHORT notice due to what they call "security considerations".
3. For the same considerations NO LIST WILL BE MADE PUBLIC AT ALL until after the members are inside. [If the LIST is going to be made public after the journalists enter Gaza, there should be some greater concern for their security while inside Gaza. There have been a few kidnappings of journalists inside Gaza, and BBC Correspondent Alan Johnson spent a difficult four month's in captivity in Gaza last year. Hamas eventually forced his release from another smaller faction.]
4. The same security considerations are fluid and can change even when the members are on the way to the crossing meaning that even if you think you're going in, this may not happen.
5. The FPA has undertaken to inform the members who are inside Gaza of the day and time they have to collect back at the crossing in order to come back - the crossing will not be opened for single people to cross when it suits them.
6. This procedure will continue for as long as the current situation exists.
Reminder: our petition for unfettered access is still pending and will be dealt with at a later date.
The Israeli operation has been carried out so far by air and naval attacks, and is now in its seventh day. A large-scale ground invasion may or may not be imminent, and is awaited with growing tension. Over 400 Palestinians have been killed in the past week in Gaza, and more than 2000 injured. Rocket and missile fire from Gaza is also continuing to hit Israeli communities in a 60-mile radius around the northern Gaza Strip.
Previously, journalists were able to operate independently inside Gaza, after passing through the formerly-open Erez border crossing.
Since early November, foreign journalists who were previously given nearly unconditional access to the Gaza Strip, have found themselves barred from entry much more often than not -- and the FPA petitioned the Supreme Court to restore press access.
In an UPDATE TO MEMBERS sent on Friday, the FPA reported that:
1. The court has ordered the state to allow entry for 8 (eight) foreign journalists per time with the proviso that if its possibie at any given time, they will allow in 12.
2. Since the original petition is to allow in the "foreign media", the State now insists they will take 6 from the FPA list and let in TWO of their choosing of the "foreigners who have come from abroad" - i.e. not FPA members.
3. The FPA will submit lists of 8 and 12 people every time, those who do not get in will be carried over to the next time.
4. If the army choses to let in other journalists from outside the FPA list, the FPA will not be responsible for pooling their material, which, following the court order, should be distributed to everyone. We see this as the responsablity of the State.
5. Members who have registered to go in should please send their passport numbers, GPO cards and mobile phone numbers by return mail.
6. YOU WILL BE INFORMED BY PHONE AT SHORT NOTICE WHEN IT IS YOUR TURN TO GO IN.
7 . THE FPA PHONE HAS TO BE CLEAR FOR COORDINATION WITH THE AUTHORITIES - CONTACT ON e-mail ONLY.
------------------------
Separately, the FPA issued several statements on Friday:
1.) The Foreign Press Association while pleased with the decision of the Israeli High Court to allow limited access to Gaza for foreign journalists, expresses its serious concern about the requirements to use the mechanism of pools which themselves have now been scaled back. We believe the Israeli Government should ensure unfettered access for the world's media to Gaza during this crisis. The FPA declares that it will be responsible exclusively for pool material of its members as submitted on the FPA list.
------------------------
2.) The FPA expresses its dismay over the Israeli government's refusal to allow entry to the Gaza strip for foreign media on Friday, despite the Supreme Court decision requiring it to do so and despite the fact that the Erez crossing was open for humanitarian traffic for most of the day. The authorities' position that there was not enough time to coordinate and allow the journalists to enter does not seem reasonable. We call on the Israeli government to immediately honor the will of the court and allow foreign journalists access to Gaza.
------------------------
3.) The FPA is appalled by the IDF attack on a Reuters photographer today in Hebron [n.b. in the West Bank, apparently while covering a demonstration against the attacks in Gaza] and by the PA police arresting journalists and cameramen covering a Hamas demonstration in Ramallah. The FPA insists that journalists be allowed free and unfettered access to cover newsworthy events at all times and under all circumstances.
The Foreign Press Association
www.fpa.org.il
------------------------
Meanwhile, the IDF is apparently quite pleased with the press coverage of Israel's unprecedented attacks on Gaza over the past week by air and sea -- a ground invasions may or may not be imminent.
The Jerusalem Post reported Friday that IDF officials "feel the coverage has been mostly fair".
Maj. Avital Leibovich, head of the foreign press department in the IDF Spokesman's Unit, told the JPost: "I'm surprised for the better. The coverage has been balanced on most channels, even on some outlets not known for being pro-Israel ... The world understands Israel has a right to defend itself, and has to respond to the rocket fire," she said.
Apparently, the IDF now regards blogs, the internet, and new media as important in their battle for public opinion, and, the JPost reports, "the IDF has been in regular contact with over 50 major American blogs covering the fighting".
While that's a start, but there are probably a few more American blogs, and there are probably blogs in other countries as well ...
In any case, the JPost report adds that "The IDF has spent the past six months learning to fight a different kind of media war, developing a capacity to take its message to the 'new media,' a general term for a wide variety of on-line social networking, user-generated news and personalized content sites. 'In terms of communicating our message, new media is the future', Brig.-Gen. Avi Benayahu, the IDF's spokesman, told The Jerusalem Post. Benayahu has overseen a new orientation in the spokesman's unit toward these on-line outlets, even taking his unit's senior officers to an intensive new media workshop at the Interdisciplinary Center, Herzliya in mid-2008. This has translated into a profusion of new initiatives across the Internet. A YouTube channel established by the IDF a day after the fighting began has become the second-most popular channel on the popular global video-sharing site, drawing over 386,000 page views in the first half of Thursday alone ... 'The new media lets you present your content at all times on all existing platforms, so it's there when the consumer wants to see it', explains Lt.-Col. Dinor Shavit, commander of the Filming Unit in the IDF Spokesman's Unit [and] coordinator for the dissemination of the 23 videos and 48 still photos the IDF has released to the world so far".
The JPost adds that "The coordination and dissemination of information to journalists and - through the internet - the wider world, has replaced the traditional wartime press conference held regularly by the IDF Spokesperson's Unit during the 2006 Second Lebanon War. Instead, IDF spokespeople are in direct real-time communication with journalists and offer quiet background briefings to Israeli officials, media and foreign reporters. 'An army has to fight, not to spend its time in front of television cameras', insists Benayahu".
This article on the IDF and the new media can be seen in full here .
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