Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal (L) and PA President Mahmoud Abbas. Photo: Jewish Policy Center.

In Freedom House’s annual report ranking the freedom of various countries and territories, both Palestinian-ruled territories ranked as “Not Free.” The PA-ruled West Bank scored a six for political rights and a five for civil liberties, with seven being the worst score, and the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip scored a six for political rights and a six for civil liberties.

The only country ranked “Free” in the Middle East was Israel, with a score of one for political rights, and a two for civil liberties.

In a related story, the Palestine Press Agency reported that Hamas began a new campaign of journalist intimidation. Hamas detained a radio journalist’s family in order to get him to come to security headquarters Tuesday morning so they could arrest him. Two others were arrested Monday, including the managing director of the Palestinian Journalist’s Syndicate, and two more journalists were detained.