Israel lifts Gaza International press ban after troop departure

Hundreds of foreign journalists are expected to enter the Gaza Strip on Friday after Israel announced it was lifting all restrictions on press entry to the Hamas-controlled territory. The decision to lift the blanket ban on press entry came a day after the last IDF soldiers who took part in the ground operation against Hamas in Gaza left the area, and follows a two-and-a-half-month-long dispute over the restrictions with the foreign press based in Israel. The restrictions were first imposed in early November due to the deteriorating security situation, and were then reinforced after briefly being lifted last month ahead of the military operation in Gaza. Scores of foreign journalists have already entered Gaza this week via the Erez crossing as part of a small pool of journalists after Israel eased the ban in the wake of the unilateral cease-fire agreement, which went into effect Sunday morning. The daily pools of eight journalists were permitted to enter the Strip starting on Monday in accordance with a High Court ruling. The largely expected decision to completely lift the press ban was welcomed Thursday by the Tel Aviv-based Foreign Press Association which represents foreign media in Israel and the Palestinian territories and had taken the state to court over the issue. "We are very pleased that the area is going to be opened to the press again," said FPA Chairman Steven Gutkin, who serves as Jerusalem bureau chief of The Associated Press. He added that the FPA would revert back to legal action if the ban is reimposed in the future. Israel has faced fierce criticism from the international press for curtailing press freedom during the three-week long military operation. The head of the Government Press Office, who has opposed the entry of foreign journalists into Gaza during the assault on Hamas, said Thursday that he had no problems with the decision to lift the ban at this time. 'Once our soldiers are out, I have no concerns anymore of either journalists or soldiers getting injured," GPO Director Danny Seaman said. He noted that about 70 foreign journalists had already gone into Gaza from Israel this week as part of the pools, and that he expected hundreds more would enter the Hamas-run territory on Friday. The Defense Ministry has always said that foreign journalists would be allowed back into Gaza when Palestinians stop firing rockets at Israel. The government has long banned Israeli journalists from entering Gaza due to concerns over their safety, but has previously always allowed foreign journalists in even during times of fierce fighting. In addition to security concerns, Israeli officials have criticized the international media's balance in their coverage of events in Gaza, inflating Palestinian suffering, while not always making clear that Israeli military actions were in response to Palestinian attacks.

Egypt has allowed international press to enter the Gaza Strip after initially denying access to the war-battered zone, an official says. A report by the Saudi-owned Arabic language Al-Arabiya quoted an unidentified Egyptian security official as saying that nearly 160 reporters were allowed access to the troubled region through the Rafah crossing. The official said the reporters from the US, Turkey, Britain, China, Japan were allowed into the Strip hours before Israel allowed access to other reporters. The report said that the Egyptian side wanted to allow the journalists when they asked for permission to enter the war zone on Tuesday but Israel warned the officials of being committed to the 2005 border agreement. The 2005 agreement allows Israel to have immediate knowledge of anyone entering the region through Egypt's Rafah border crossing. Israel also opened its pedestrian crossing into the Strip, allowing access for journalists aid workers for the first time since before the offensive on Dec 27, a few hours after Egypt opened its borders for the media. Tel Aviv enforced a full-scale ban on the entry of journalists into Gaza since the beginning of its offensive into the strip on December 27. The Foreign Press Association responded to the ban by filing a court challenge in which it accused Israel of restricting the freedom of the press. The move came as Gazans crowded markets and mosques as the Strip edged back to normalcy on Friday, following the horrendous three-week military onslaught. At least 1,330 Palestinians lost their lives and more than 5,450 others sustained wounds during the Israeli incursion into the coastal sliver. RZS/HAR