The Hamas security forces on Sunday detained journalist and satirist Ayman al-Aloul in the Gaza Strip, his wife told Ma’an. Al-Aloul was arrested at his home by Gaza’s internal security service, who confiscated the couple’s mobile phones and laptops.
Al-Aloul is best known for the outspoken satirical reports he publishes on Youtube, using both formal and colloquial Arabic to draw attention to the difficulties of life in the Gaza Strip. He also works as news editor for the Arab Alaan (Arabs Now) news agency, and reports for the Iraqi al-Furat (Euphrates) television channel.
During the 2014 Gaza war, al-Aloul attracted great attention to his video report in response to the “Ice Bucket Challenge,” when he said that there wasn’t enough water in Gaza to take part in the social media phenomenon and no way to make it cold, and so instead he poured a bucket of rubble over his head, highlighting the destruction of Gaza.
According to watchdog MADA, the past two years there have been a significant rise in the number of violations against Palestinian press freedoms. MADA says that the first half of 2015 had seen “an unprecedented rise” in violations against journalists by Palestinian authorities —110 violations, up from 54 in the first half of 2014. The change is attributed to the new tensions between Hamas and Fatah, which neither group wants to see be reflected in the media.
