Masked Palestinians Attack News Agency
Ryan R. Jones - All Headline News Middle East Correspondent Jerusalem, Israel (AHN) - Masked Palestinians Tuesday stormed the central Gaza offices of the official Palestinian Authority news agency, WAFA, destroying all of the equipment and furniture and severely beating one reporter. The attackers accused WAFA, which is aligned with P.A. Chairman Mahmoud Abbas and his Fatah faction, of biased reporting. Fatah sources told The Jerusalem Post they suspect Hamas was behind the attack. A statement issued by WAFA condemned the act as a "murderous crime and an offense on the freedom of expression." Tensions between Fatah and the ruling Hamas organization have again heightened in Gaza following last week's murder of a senior intelligence officer allied with Abbas. The officer was known to be at loggerheads with Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh. But even before that assassination, attacks on Fatah-aligned media were not uncommon. Hamas officials accuse many of the local newspapers, radio stations and television networks of actively trying to defame the group on behalf of Fatah. Fatah in turn says the Hamas-led government is practicing discrimination against news agencies not affiliated with the terror group.
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