News blackout in Gaza
2004-05-17 15:53
Ramallah - Israeli security forces have prevented distribution of the three main Palestinian newspapers in the Gaza Strip for the last six days, sources within the papers and officials said on Monday.
Copies of Al-Ayyam and Al-Hayat al-Jadida, which are both printed in the West Bank town of Ramallah, as well as the east Jerusalem-based Al-Quds daily, have been turned back at the main Erez crossing point since last Tuesday, the sources said.
The papers are usually delivered at the Israeli side of Erez and then passed through the crossing point before being picked up by delivery drivers on the Palestinian side. There are no newspaper printing presses in the Gaza Strip.
Deputy Palestinian information minister Ahmed Sobuh said Israeli authorities were trying to censor information amid an upsurge in violence in Gaza.
"Israel is trying to cover up its crimes in Gaza," he told AFP. "By preventing the newspapers from being delivered to Gaza, they are showing up the big lie of Israeli democracy," he added.
There was no immediate reaction from Israeli security authorities.
- SAPA