Israel Ex-Premier Olmert defends ban on media in Gaza
24.04.2009Former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert faced tough questioning over the recent conflict in Gaza from international journalists attending the annual Eurasian Media Forum in Almaty, Kazakhstan.
Naveen Naqvi from Pakistan, chairing a session on ‘Media Management in Gaza’, challenged Olmert to explain his government’s ban on reporters entering the Palestinian territory during Israel’s three-week military operations in January.
Olmert said this was due to concern for the safety of journalists. “The operation was in an area of heavy civilian population and there was a concern that journalists could be at risk and we did not want to be responsible for any harm coming to them,” he said.
Olmert was speaking by live television link from Israel at the start of the two-day conference, which opened in Almaty on April 23. He apologized for being unable to attend the Forum in person as scheduled, due to medical reasons.
The 8th annual Eurasian Media Forum, opened by Dariga Nazarbayeva, Chair of the Organising Committee, has brought together political leaders and senior journalists from East and West to discuss a range of topical news issues including the global economic crisis, the new US administration and regional conflicts.
Naveen Naqvi, senior anchor at Pakistan’s dawn Television, suggested to Olmert that the decision on personal security in Gaza should have been left to the journalists themselves.
“Maybe that is right,” Olmert replied, adding that an Italian journalist who had entered Gaza had described less damage and fewer problems on the ground than other correspondents who were reporting from outside the territory.
He denied that the Israeli government had been trying to control the international perception of what was happening in Gaza. “We all know that in modern times it is simply not possible to control the media. This was not out purpose,” he said.
Asked if the decision to ban journalists from Gaza had been taken in the light of Israel’s experience during its military incursion into Lebanon in 2006, Olmert referred to operational security, saying the Israeli military in Lebanon had found out afterwards that Israeli journalists reporting on their troop movements had been a major source of intelligence for the Hezbollah fighters.
But he insisted that it was the personal safety of journalists that had prompted the ban on reporting in Gaza. He denied that journalists working in Gaza had been targeted by the Israeli forces.
“A broadcasting station of Hamas or Hezbollah is not the media. This is a branch of the terrorist organization,” he said.
Olmert also rejected reports that Israel was trying to cover up the use of chemical weapons in Gaza: “I deny that Israel used any chemicals or violated any international law.”
Dutch journalist Conny Mus, Middle East bureau chief of RTL Niews TV, summed up the professional mood of the journalists on the panel:
“Foreign Journalists are not the enemy of the state. We are not. We are honest people and we do what we have to do – we just do the job of informing people about what is going on.”
END
SS/23.04.09
Naveen Naqvi from Pakistan, chairing a session on ‘Media Management in Gaza’, challenged Olmert to explain his government’s ban on reporters entering the Palestinian territory during Israel’s three-week military operations in January.
Olmert said this was due to concern for the safety of journalists. “The operation was in an area of heavy civilian population and there was a concern that journalists could be at risk and we did not want to be responsible for any harm coming to them,” he said.
Olmert was speaking by live television link from Israel at the start of the two-day conference, which opened in Almaty on April 23. He apologized for being unable to attend the Forum in person as scheduled, due to medical reasons.
The 8th annual Eurasian Media Forum, opened by Dariga Nazarbayeva, Chair of the Organising Committee, has brought together political leaders and senior journalists from East and West to discuss a range of topical news issues including the global economic crisis, the new US administration and regional conflicts.
Naveen Naqvi, senior anchor at Pakistan’s dawn Television, suggested to Olmert that the decision on personal security in Gaza should have been left to the journalists themselves.
“Maybe that is right,” Olmert replied, adding that an Italian journalist who had entered Gaza had described less damage and fewer problems on the ground than other correspondents who were reporting from outside the territory.
He denied that the Israeli government had been trying to control the international perception of what was happening in Gaza. “We all know that in modern times it is simply not possible to control the media. This was not out purpose,” he said.
Asked if the decision to ban journalists from Gaza had been taken in the light of Israel’s experience during its military incursion into Lebanon in 2006, Olmert referred to operational security, saying the Israeli military in Lebanon had found out afterwards that Israeli journalists reporting on their troop movements had been a major source of intelligence for the Hezbollah fighters.
But he insisted that it was the personal safety of journalists that had prompted the ban on reporting in Gaza. He denied that journalists working in Gaza had been targeted by the Israeli forces.
“A broadcasting station of Hamas or Hezbollah is not the media. This is a branch of the terrorist organization,” he said.
Olmert also rejected reports that Israel was trying to cover up the use of chemical weapons in Gaza: “I deny that Israel used any chemicals or violated any international law.”
The session went on to examine Israel’s image in the international media and its credentials as ‘the only democracy in the Middle East’, with contributions from panellists representing media organisations from Israel, Netherlands, Russia and Turkey, as well as British member of parliament George Galloway.
Several journalists said the only way the international image of Israel would be improved would be for the Israeli authorities to facilitate the free flow of news.
Olmert said the government allowed journalists from all countries to work freely in Israel, and called on Arab countries such as Qatar and Saudi Arabia to allow similar access to Israeli correspondents.
Several journalists said the only way the international image of Israel would be improved would be for the Israeli authorities to facilitate the free flow of news.
Olmert said the government allowed journalists from all countries to work freely in Israel, and called on Arab countries such as Qatar and Saudi Arabia to allow similar access to Israeli correspondents.
Dutch journalist Conny Mus, Middle East bureau chief of RTL Niews TV, summed up the professional mood of the journalists on the panel:
“Foreign Journalists are not the enemy of the state. We are not. We are honest people and we do what we have to do – we just do the job of informing people about what is going on.”
END
SS/23.04.09
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