Two East Jerusalem journalists jailed for reporting for Iran

The Jerusalem District Court sentenced two journalists from East Jerusalem to two months' imprisonment for their report to Iranian television about the start of the ground offensive in the Gaza Strip in January.

The two were sentenced as part of a plea bargain to charges that they violated military censorship restrictions by reporting the start of the Operation Cast Lead incursion two hours before journalists were permitted to do so.

The two, reporter Hadir Shahin and his producer, Muhammed Sarhan, pled guilty to negligently passing information to the enemy.

The ground offensive commenced at 7:12 P.M. on January 3, and military censorship banned any reporting on the matter before 8:28 P.M. However, the two reported at 6:33 P.M. to Iran's Al-Alam television station that massive movement of armored vehicles had began toward the Strip, plus they added that artillery attacks had intensified and gave specific locations.

"Proximity and immediate broadcasting are power. And information, as was broadcast, is not only power, but is nearly equivalent to weaponry," the judges wrote in their decision.

"One does not need to be an expert or have great understanding in military history in order to know that the hour at which a military operation begins is of paramount importance," they added.