Press freedom group condemns Gaza journalist summons

A Ramallah-based press freedom group on Wednesday condemned the summoning of a journalist in the Gaza Strip by the government's internal security service. Freelance journalist Yahya Almadhoun was summoned to the service's Jabaliya headquarters on Sunday and Monday, where he was questioned about his article on the division between Fatah and Hamas and the death of his brother, he told the Palestinian Center for Development and Media Freedoms. "They ordered me not to address issues related to the government or to criticize them," he said. MADA also condemned the raid by unidentified assailants on the office of Al-Quds Newspaper correspondent Najib Farraj in Bethlehem on Thursday. Farraj found one of his articles for Al-Ayyam newspaper, titled During his visit to Jenin: Fayyad emphasizes the rule of law and public order as a top priority in Jenin, placed conspicuously at the scene, MADA said. The media freedom group said the absence of severe damage or theft suggests that the raid was intended as a threat to him and his work. It called for a full investigation into the break-in, and for authorities in the West Bank and Gaza Strip to protect free expression as guaranteed in Palestinian law.