To show Hamas launching attacks from civilian areas was tantamount to collaborating with the Israelis.
“Hamas Government Spokesperson: We Deported Foreign Journalists for Filming Missile Launches,” MEMRI, August 14, 2014 (thanks to Marc):
Isra Al-Mudallal, head of foreign relations in the Hamas Information Ministry, admitted, in a phone interview with Mayadeen TV on August 14, that journalists who filmed the places from where missiles were launched were deported from the Gaza Strip. “The security agencies would go and have a chat with these people,” she said.
Following are excerpts:
Interviewer: How did you manage to maintain contact with the foreign journalists, and how did you convey your point of view to them?
Isra Al-Mudallal: Since the beginning of the aggression against the Gaza Strip, a state of emergency was declared at the border crossings, especially at the Beit Hanoun Crossing, also known as the Erez Crossing, and journalists were allowed in without any bureaucratic procedures, except for registration to guarantee their safety.
Our problem was that [we didn’t know] who was entering the Gaza Strip. Who were they? Most of them were freelancers, and the others were from news agencies.
Fewer journalists entered the Gaza Strip during this war than in the previous rounds, in 2008 and 2012. Therefore, the coverage by foreign journalists in the Gaza Strip was insignificant compared to their coverage within the Israeli occupation [i.e., Israel]. Moreover, the journalists who entered Gaza were fixated on the notion of peace and on the Israeli narrative.
So when they were conducting interviewers, or when they went on location to report, they would focus on filming the places from where missiles were launched. Thus, they were collaborating with the occupation.
These journalists were deported from the Gaza Strip. The security agencies would go and have a chat with these people. They would give them some time to change their message, one way or another.
The Israeli missiles do not distinguish between fighters, civilians, or children.
We suffered from this problem very much. Some of the journalists who entered the Gaza Strip were under security surveillance. Even under these difficult circumstances, we managed to reach them, and tell them that what they were doing was anything but professional journalism and that it was immoral.
[…]
Interviewer: Isra Al-Mudallal, the spokesperson for the Palestinian Information Ministry in Gaza, I thank you very much. You were with us from Gaza via Skype.
jp says
This admission that all “journalists” in Gaza must collaborate with hamas to be picked up by msm who will apologize for collaborating with hamas terrorists in 3…2…1… Um 3…2…1… Weird, I hear nothing but continuing admonishments of Israel for daring to be Jews fighting to protect ourselves
paddy says
I am a totally sympathetic Gentile and wholeheartedly support the state of Israel’s actions on protecting its citizens against the constant threat/menace from the muslim world.
dumbledoresarmy says
Mate, don’t lose heart. There are quite a few of us out here in the Gentile world who do know what you in Israel are up against – to wit, genocidal Jihad, which is a subset of the jihad waged against everybody not-Islam – and totally support you.
The first thing I did as soon as I saw that Israel was going in to give Hamas a much-deserved and too-long-delayed hammering, was to write to the Israeli ambassador here in Australia to express support. The second thing was to write to my PM and Foreign Minister and state that as a non-Jewish Australian I expected my country to understand and support Israel’s right to do whatever it had to do to defend itself against the genocidally-Jewhating jihadis of Jihad Fortress Gaza. The third thing was to take up my Star of David pendant and wear it six days a week instead of just on Saturdays. And the fourth was to take part in a pro-Israel rally in my hometown.
Anna hogan says
You are awesome! God Bless You!
Angemon says
Neither do non-israeli missiles. The difference is, Israel fires their missiles against confirmed enemy missile launching sites – which should have no place in civilian areas – while the hamas fires their missiles indiscriminately into Israel.
pongidae rex says
They are not fired indiscriminantly. They target Israeli civilian population centers within their limited range. When HAMAS gets its hands on larger, more accurate and destructive missiles when the blockade is lifted with monies made available by UNRWA and Islamic ‘charities’, the range will be extended but the targeting will not change.