Hamas raids journalists syndicate office in Gaza

Hamas forces Tuesday raided the main office of the Palestinian Journalists Syndicate (PJS) in Gaza City seizing computers and cell phones of staff working there after ordering them to leave the premise, according to a PJS statement. The PJS, based in Ramallah, denounced the Hamas act describing it as a “blatant act of aggression by Hamas.” It accused Hamas, which controls the Gaza Strip since June 2007, of harassing journalists, closing down press offices and preventing entry of newspapers published in the West Bank into the Strip. Hamas does not recognize the PJS, which held elections last year in the West Bank only after Hamas refused to allow them in Gaza as well. Hamas has also asked foreign journalists seeking to enter Gaza to get its permission days in advance of their planned trip to the besieged enclave.