Palestinian Press Freedom????

And, where is the uproar in the western press????

Palestinian journalists on Sunday announced a series of protests to demand that Hamas and Fatah stop targeting them.

The announcement, made during several journalist demonstrations, came after a crackdown on newsmen in both the Fatah-controlled West Bank and the Hamas-run Gaza Strip.

Embattled Palestinian reporters said such attacks had become the norm in the Palestinian territories.

"Both Hamas and Fatah are targeting journalists," said a Ramallah-based journalist. "We are caught in the cross fire between Hamas and Fatah."

Another member of the press from Jenin said he had been receiving death threats on an almost daily basis in recent months. "One day it's from Fatah, and another day the threats come from Hamas," he told The Jerusalem Post. "For the past month, I haven't been able to write anything under my name out of fear for my life."

On Friday, four journalists were beaten and arrested by Hamas militiamen during a demonstration by Fatah supporters in Gaza City.

Hours later, a large group of journalists thwarted an attempt by Hamas militiamen to arrest Sakher Abu al-Oun, a reporter working with Agence France Press.

"They surrounded my home and scared my children," Abu al-Oun said. "This is an attempt to intimidate journalists and prevent them from carrying out their job. I call on all my colleagues to be united for the sake of freedom of expression."

Last month, the Hamas government banned distribution of Fatah-controlled newspapers in the Gaza Strip. The move, according to the government, came in response to a similar decision by the Fatah-controlled government of Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Salaam Fayad, which banned four Hamas-affiliated newspapers from being sold in the West Bank: Falasteen, Al-Risalah, Al-Karameh and Al-Sabah.

At least four Fatah-affiliated radio stations have been shut down since Hamas took control of the Gaza Strip in June.

The Fatah-affiliated Palestinian Journalists Syndicate said the Hamas crackdown on journalists "plunged the Palestinian media into an unprecedented dark phase."