Gaza City (AFP)--the Hamas Movement which controls the Gaza Strip launched its own news agency by the name of Al-Rai (opinion), so the Government of Hamas, announced Monday.
"The first official news agency the Government (of Hamas) has been formed under the name Al-Rai ... with supervision of the Office of Government information," said the Director of the Office that Salameh Maaruf told AFP.
"The news that will be a source of important information about government activities, press releases and letters from the Prime Minister (Gaza) Ismail Haniya," he said.
"The independent news agency in terms of personnel and administration, Office of information, however, the Government will be responsible for watching him," he added.
Al-Rai launched with initial power of 15 journalists who will "focus attention on the problem of Palestine, and the Arab News and international with respect to this issue," he said.
The news agency also will give the community the opportunity to propose a "suggestions and complaints" which will be submitted to government departments concerned.
Maaruf said, despite the Government's official policy line voiced, news agency it will also broadcast other vantage points, including from Fatah, led by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.
A number of news agencies have been operating in the Gaza Strip, including SAFA launched in 2007 and which is close to Hamas. Fighters of the Palestinian hardline group that also owns the Al-Aqsa TV in Gaza.
WAFA, the official news agency for the Palestinian Government led by Abbas, based in the West Bank and Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO), celebrates the 40th year anniversary in the past year.
WAFA offices in Gaza shut down by Hamas in 2007, when the movement took control of the coastal territory.
The Hamas group took control of Gaza Strip in June 2007 after defeating Fatah forces loyal to Palestinian President Mahmud Abbas in deadly combat for several days.
Since then the impoverished coastal territory dibloklade by Israel. The Palestinians also became two separate Union territory--the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip and the West Bank that is under the rule of Abbas. Now that the two camps have been doing reconciliation.
The European Union, Israel and the United States put Hamas to its list of terrorist organizations. (M014)
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