Israel’s Military Censors Demand ‘Prior Review’ of New York Times’ Gaza Reporting | Global Research

Israel’s Military Censors Demand ‘Prior Review’ of New York Times’ Gaza Reporting | Global Research:

 Following its reporting of the latest events in the Gaza Strip on Friday, including available details about an IDF soldier captured by Hamas soldiers early in the day, the New York Times was contacted by Israel’s military censor and told that future reporting related to the capture would need to be run through its office before publication.

The Times updated their original story by adding:

“…the military’s censor informed The New York Times that further information related to the soldier would have to be submitted for prior review. Journalists for foreign news organizations must agree in writing to the military censorship system to work in Israel. This was the first censorship notification The Times had received in more than two years.

Israel’s policy of placing ‘gag rules’ over foreign correspondents is well known to reporters who have worked in the country, but rarely acknowledged by U.S. outlets.

In response to the notice given to the Times on Friday, the Freedom of the Press Foundation—which advocates on behalf of journalistic freedoms—tweeted its advice to the newspaper:

The New York Times has received a censorship notification from Israel. They should refuse to comply. http://t.co/y7RjoZcYU4

— Freedom of the Press (@FreedomofPress) August 1, 2014