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PA Pressures Journalists to Call Killed Palestinians "Martyrs"

(Jerusalem Post) Khaled Abu Toameh - The Palestinian Authority is demanding that all journalists who work for Arab satellite TV stations refer to a Palestinian who is killed by the IDF as a shaheed (martyr) and refrain from voicing any criticism of the PA in their reporting. The remarks of Yussef al-Qazzaz, a senior official with the Palestinian Broadcasting Corporation, were directed mostly at Palestinian correspondents who work for the Saudi-owned Al-Arabiya news channel, who have been using the term "dead" instead of "martyred" when referring to Palestinians killed in the ongoing violence. Last week, Al-Arabiya's correspondent in the Gaza Strip, Seif al-Din Shahin, was attacked and wounded in the center of Gaza City. The attackers told Shahin they were unhappy with his coverage of celebrations in the Gaza Strip marking the 39th anniversary of the founding of Fatah. Many Palestinians have criticized Fatah for allowing hundreds of armed men at the celebrations to shoot extensively into the air, wounding several people. The celebrations reportedly cost Fatah more than $3 million.
2004-01-13 00:00:00
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