Hamas arrests six journalists in Gaza strip

Gaza - No one is safe from persecution in the politically turbulent and often violent neighborhoods of the Palestinian territories, not even journalists.

The region, often referred to as Palestine territory, is a dangerous, divided community, its military powers split between oppressive Hamas terrorists who control the Gaza strip and militant Fatah loyalists ruled by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. Hamas was founded with a written commitment to the destruction of Israel. Tuesday, a Palestinian rights group said Gaza's Hamas organization had detained six journalists “suspected of affiliation” with Fatah, according to Fox News. Hamas reportedly claims the detentions are part of an arrest operation aimed at apprehending two dozen suspected Fatah loyalists. Wednesday The Palestinian Center for Human Rights group reported that Hamas security forces arrested the men and confiscated their equipment during the last two days. Hamas, considered a terrorist organization by many western nations, seized control of Gaza from Fatah members in 2007. This and similar arrests orchestrated by both sides in the past are a detriment to reconciliation talks between Hamas and Fatah. While such arrests are not uncommon in the Palestine territories, it is unusual for six journalists to be detained during one operation. Gaza's Interior Ministry claims the journalists are suspected of disrupting "communal peace."