An umbrella group representing journalists in Israel and the Palestinian territories slammed Hamas for its “thuggish behavior” towards reporters on Thursday night.

The Foreign Press Association (FPA) said a photographer for SIPA Press, Heidi Levine, was detained for over three hours by Hamas earlier on Thursday before being permitted to leave the Gaza Strip. As she was released, Levine was told that she was forbidden to return because her “work reflects badly on Gaza.”

“The FPA strongly condemns the thuggish behavior of the Hamas security and the implication that Hamas should judge what is or isn’t acceptable coverage of Gaza,” the group added.

“Unfortunately, this incident is not isolated. A number of FPA members have reported being forced to undergo uncomfortable questioning by Hamas security forces while entering or exiting Gaza in recent months. We call on Hamas to end these practices immediately and urge the group to give journalists unfettered access in and out of Gaza.”

The FPA also complained that Hamas had raised the rate for renting the armored vehicles used by journalists in Gaza.

During Operation Protective Edge, Hamas spokeswoman Isra al-Mudallal claimed that journalists who wanted to “[film] the places from where missiles were launched” were “collaborating with the occupation.”

“These journalists were deported from the Gaza Strip. The security agencies would go and have a chat with these people. They would give them some time to change their message, one way or another,” she added.

Al-Mudallal’s comments came shortly after Hamas was reported to have published guidelines for sharing news on social media.

[Photo: Abed Rahim Khatib / Flash 90 ]