Media outrage at ban on reporters

Media outrage at ban on reporters | The Australian

EREZ CROSSING: Israel yesterday scrapped arrangements to allow the first foreign reporters into Gaza since it launched an all-out war against Palestinian militants, adding to mounting media frustration at being locked out of the war zone.

Israel says opening crossings to let journalists in would endanger the staff at the terminals, which have often been targeted by militants.

Israeli officials are unapologetic about the ban, saying many foreign reporters are biased against Israel and easily manipulated or intimidated by Hamas.

The effect of the ban is to force many media outlets to rely on partisan reports from the Israeli military or Gaza's Hamas rulers and militants for information.

"Israel has never restricted media access like this before, and it should be ashamed," said Ethan Bronner, bureau chief in Jerusalem for The New York Times.

About 350 reporters have descended on Israel since December 27, bolstering a permanent foreign press corps of about 900 and hundreds more Israelis working for foreign outfits.

The army had been set to allow eight reporters in on Friday, in keeping with a compromise engineered by the Supreme Court, then postponed it to yesterday. But those plans were abandoned as fighting intensified around the Erez checkpoint, the main civilian crossing from Israel into Gaza.

Israel's Government Press Office director, Daniel Seaman, said the absence of foreign journalists was good for Israel because the Hamas militants who ruled Gaza fabricated coverage to make Israel look bad.

"No reporters are allowed into Gaza because our soldiers will not sacrifice their lives to protect them," he said.

Seaman said reporters were "spoiled".

"Reporters were not forced to leave Gaza over the past months, but were too scared to stay there," he said.

"The world press doesn't care about the suffering of the Israeli people. They are only worried about the Palestinians. Why isn't anyone reporting on what's happening in southern Israel?"

The Foreign Press Association appealed against the ban to the Supreme Court. Without making a final ruling, the court suggested a compromise of sending in a handful of reporters to act as a "pool", sharing their reports with the rest of the foreign media.

AP, AFP