The Foreign Press Association (FPA) has released a statement condemning censorship by Hamas in the Gaza Strip in attempts to ensure that reports put the terrorist organization in positive light over the course of Operation Protective Edge.
Since foreign reporters exited the Gaza Strip, several reports have surfaced showing footage that they had been afraid to show while in Gaza, but the FPA's comments are the first such claims from an official organization.
The FPA protested ‘’in the strongest terms the blatant, incessant, forceful and unorthodox methods employed by the Hamas authorities and their representatives against visiting international journalists in Gaza over the past month," the statement said.
According to members of the organization, which comprises of some 500 journalists from 32 different countries working in Israel and in the Palestinian Territories, Hamas pressured and threatened reporters, preventing them from giving viewers and readers an, "objective picture from the ground."
"In several cases, foreign reporters working in Gaza have been harassed, threatened or questioned over stories or information they have reported through their news media or by means of social media," said the FPA statement.
The organization also said in the statement that Hamas has been trying to, "put in place a 'vetting' procedure that would, in effect, allow for the blacklisting of specific journalists. Such a procedure is vehemently opposed by the FPA."
Italian journalist Gabriele Barbati said he was able to report that Hamas, not Israel, was responsible for shelling in Shati, while two tweets from correspondents for The Wall Street Journal that highlighted Hamas operating its headquarters from the Al Shifa Hospital and showing how Hamas rockets, not Israel’s likely hit the hospital, were quickly deleted.
The FPA said one photographer spoke of being beaten up and having a camera smashed; a news photographer had a camera confiscated for three days and Hamas also asked people to remove tweets and YouTube videos.
A European company was also threatened in the middle of the street when filming an anti-Hamas demonstration.
The FPA has also protested to Israel for several incidents during Operation Protective Edge, including the alleged firing of the Al Jazeera’s headquarters in Gaza. In response, Israel has apologized for such incidents, calling them a mistake and warning the organization that Hamas was using reporters as human shields.
The Government Press Office (GPO) also stressed that Israel can't be responsible for the safety of journalists in the Gaza Strip saying, "The city of Gaza and the surrounding areas are a battleground."