Keep out, Israel warns US broadcasters
The Guardian, April 03 2002
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Keep out, Israel warns US broadcasters
Jason Deans
Wednesday April 03 2002
The Guardian
Israel has threatened legal action against CNN and NBC for ignoring
military orders and broadcasting from the Israeli-occupied West Bank city
of Ramallah, as part of the crackdown on foreign media reporting of its
conflict with the Palestinians.
The Israeli government has also has revoked the
accreditation of two Abu Dhabi TV journalists, after the station broadcast
a story on March 31 alleging that Israeli troops executed a group of young
men in Ramallah.
Israel's government press office said it had sent
written complaints to CNN and NBC, whose correspondents continued broadcasting
from Ramallah after Israel declared the city a closed military zone, off
limits to journalists.
"If they do not stop violating Israeli law, the
state of Israel will be compelled to take the steps to which it is obliged
by law," the government press office said, without elaborating.
The government accused the Abu Dhabi TV journalists,
Leileh Odeh and Bassam Azawi, of purveying "crude anti-Israel propaganda
and have been taking a hostile and combative attitude, creating uproar
in the Arab world".
Abu Dhabi TV had also showed "utter disregard" for
Israeli military censorship rules, the government added in a furious outburst
against the satellite channel.
Broadcasters and press organisations have rounded
on Israel for censoring reports following its decision to ban all journalists
from the city of Ramallah on Friday.
The BBC yesterday protested to Israel after its
correspondent, Orla Guerin, came under fire from an Israeli tank, which
had moved in on a peace demonstration.
Millions of viewers saw her reporting on the protests
when the tank turned on her forcing her to withdraw shouting, "Don't shoot,
don't shoot".
CBS veteran Dan Rather narrowly missed a suicide
bomb attack on Monday when he and two producers drove past a checkpoint
on the edge of Jerusalem, where moments later a car bomb exploded, killing
the bomber and a policeman.
Hearing the explosion, the CBS team doubled back
to gather footage, a CBS spokesman said.
A few hours later Rather anchored the CBS evening
news from Jerusalem. He will be in Israel for a few days, depending on
the news, CBS said.
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