Hamas raids headquarters of Palestinian Journalists Union

Hamas raids headquarters of Palestinian Journalists Union

2010-10-13 03:14:22 GMT+7 (ICT)

GAZA STRIP (BNO NEWS) -- Hamas security forces on Tuesday raided the headquarters of the Palestinian Journalists Union in the Gaza Strip, Middle East online reported.

"Hamas internal security forces raided the headquarters today, and one of the officers informed the members of the board who were there that it would be closed until further notice," said Abdelnasser al-Najar, head of the Palestinian Journalists Union.

Since Hamas seized control of the Gaza Strip in 2007, approximately 25 media outlets have been shut down. The Palestinian Journalists Union is dominated by the Fatah movement, which was driven out by Hamas around three years ago.

"The raid was the latest in a series of violations of the rights of the media in Gaza," al-Najar said. "Around 25 media outlets have been shut down since the Hamas takeover."

Najar added that the Palestinian union will immediately contact Arab journalist unions and international organizations to discuss the violations. The union held elections last year but the Hamas and Islamic Jihad factions declined to participate.

Hamas and its rivals, the secular Fatah movement, have been divided since 2007 with accusations from both sides related to imprisoning and mistreating political opponents. Fatah dominates the western-backed Palestinian Authority.

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