The Israelis have shut the world press out of the Gaza Strip,
forcing journalists to rely on Arab media and informants on the ground.
This situation is making objective reporting on the war close to
impossible.
Danny Seaman stands on a low hill in southern Israel. His legs are set
wide, and his whole face is beaming. Whatever he is looking at is
clearly filling him with satisfaction.
While a crowd of journalists scurries around the hill, television
cameras stand at the ready and the logos of major television channels
glint from the satellite dishes mounted atop broadcast vans. The area
is swarming with photographers who sit and wait like paparazzi camped
outside a celebrity villa - except that the situation here isn't quite
so glamorous. With little to see, the general mood is one of annoyance.
And that's exactly how Seaman likes it. After all, he doesn't like
these foreign observers very much.
Seaman is the director of Israel's Government Press Office. The
Israeli government has barred all media coverage from the Gaza Strip,
which has forced correspondents from around the world to take up
position here, one kilometer (0.62 miles) back from the border. In the
distance, they can make out the silhouette of Gaza City. They can
see the smoke that rises after each air strike, too.
At the moment, this hill provides the best view of the war available
- and it's the Israeli view. The journalists are close enough to film
the impact of Israeli bombs but too far away to see the Palestinian
casualties.
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