Bomb misses anti-Hamas Palestinian journalist

Attack was latest in series of assaults on Palestinian journalists and media organizations.

By KHALED ABU TOAMEH
Hamas rally 298.88 (photo credit: AP [file])
Hamas rally 298.88
(photo credit: AP [file])
An explosive device was detonated outside the home of a prominent Palestinian journalist in the Gaza Strip on Monday. No one was hurt in the attack, the latest in a series of assaults on Palestinian journalists and media organizations in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Sources in Gaza City said the target of the latest attack was Majdi Arabeed, owner and director of the independent Sawt al-Huriyya [Voice of Freedom] radio station. Arabeed has over the past few months received numerous death threats from anonymous people who claimed they were members of Hamas. The threats came after the station aired a series of interviews and programs that were critical of the Hamas-led government. In May, Arabeed, who also works with Israeli media outlets, suspended the broadcasts of his station and hired two bodyguards out of fear for his life. He also started carrying an automatic rifle. The Palestinian Journalists Union in the Gaza Strip strongly condemned the attack on Arabeed's home and called on the Palestinian Authority security forces to take the necessary measures to protect Palestinian journalists. "This is an immoral crime," the union said. "These suspicious attacks are aimed at silencing the voices of the Palestinian journalists who have succeeded in exposing Israel's repressive measures against our people."