Derekh Hanitzotz

Derekh Hanitzotz was started by the leftist figures who left the Matzpen movement.[2] It was published by Hanitzotz–Al Sharara company on a weekly basis.[3][4] The editors of the paper included Israeli Jews, and one of them was a Palestinian.[1] The paper had an Arabic sister newspaper entitled Tariq Al Sharara.[5] It had a leftist political leaning.[1] Le Monde reported that the paper had a circulation of 800 copies and that its Arabic version had a circulation of 3,000 copies.[2]

Derekh Hanitzotz specialized in investigative reports and news about the events in the Palestinian territories.[2] Roni Ben-Efrat, a journalist for the paper, published an article in March 1987 about a pregnant Palestinian women, Naila Ayesh, who was arrested and tortured denying medical treatment.[6] However, this news was not commonly featured in the Israeli media outlets except for now-defunct Hadashot.[6]

The license of Derekh Hanitzotz was revoked by the Jerusalem District Commissioner in February 1988 due to its alleged connection with the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine.[5] Immediately after its closure several journalists working for Derekh Hanitzotz were arrested and tried. Felicia Langer, a lawyer and human rights activist, headed the legal team defending these journalists.[7] Their trial ended in January 1989, and most of them were sentenced to imprisonment with varying periods.[3] After their release from prison these people left Israel and settled in Germany.[7]

The case of Derekh Hanitzotz was one of the actions which Israel carried against the internal opposition groups during the early period of the First Intifada.[7]