Pro-Fatah TV and radio stations attacked, forced off the air

The seizure of complete control yesterday in the Gaza Strip by Hamas, the Islamist party that swept elections in January 2006, has been accompanied by a takeover of news media considered sympathetic to Fatah, the party of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. “We fear the ability of journalists to work in the Palestinian Territories has been dealt a severe blow by the catastrophic events of the past few days in the Gaza Strip,” Reporters Without Borders said. “The Hamas attacks on broadcast media that support the Palestinian Authority are unacceptable. We call on Prime Minister Ismael Haniyeh to have the premises of these media evacuated and to let them resume broadcasting.” The organisation added: “The deterioration in the security situation is also clearly delaying the release of British journalist Alan Johnston, who has been held hostage in Gaza since 12 March.” The broadcasting centre of the state-owned Palestine Broadcasting Corporation (PBC) was destroyed by Hamas fighters on 13 June. Two PBC technicians were held for several hours before being released. Dozens of armed members of the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas, overran the PBC offices next to the presidential palace at dawn today, cutting short broadcasts. The few journalists still on the job all fled. Equipment and archives were ransacked. Since this attack, the PBC is only broadcasting from its offices in the West Bank, which are less well equipped that those it had in the Gaza Strip. The studios that relay the official Voice of Palestine radio, which is also pro-Fatah, were set on fire yesterday, putting a stop to its broadcasts in the Gaza Strip. Two other radio stations that support the Palestinian Authority - Voice of Youth and Voice of Freedom - also stopped broadcasting after their offices, located in the Al-Chorouk building in the northern part of Gaza City, were overrun by gunmen and their equipment was destroyed. Al Aamal, the radio station that is the mouthpiece of the Union of Workers, suffered the same fate.