This article was originally published by Ma'an News and is republished with permission.

Palestinian jouranlists inspect an armoured Reuters car after it was hit in an Israeli air strike in the Gaza Strip. (Wesam Saleh, Maan Images)

Israel is among the worst violators in the world of press freedom beyond its own borders, according to a report by the French press freedom watchdog Reporters Without Borders published on Wednesday.

Out of the 160 countries ranked by the Paris-based group, Israel came in 149th on the list for press freedom beyond its own borders. Israel ranked 103rd on the same list in 2007.

The Jewish state's nearly 50-point plummet was likely influenced by the death of Reuters cameraman Fadel Shana in April. He was killed by an Israeli tank in Gaza, when a soldier targeted him with a shell loaded with darts.

No action was taken over the incident, about which a lawyer for the Israeli armed forces claimed the tank operators "could not see" whether Shana had been "operating a camera or a weapon," but that he was "nevertheless justified in firing" at the Reuters cameraman.

Also this year, an award-winning Palestinian journalist from the Gaza Strip was severely beaten by Israeli officials at the Allenby Bridge border crossing between Jordan and the West Bank upon returning from a trip to the United Kingdom.


To view the full 2008 Press Freedom Index, click here.