Reporters Without Borders is still stewed over Israeli press restrictions during the Gaza war. Their press freedom index dropped Israel 47 places down to 93.
That's way behind Lebanon, which ranked in at 61, despite the plethora of burly Hezbollah media minders and the pervasive fear journalists have of being the next Samir Qassir.
I'm no fan of press restrictions, but allowing reporters to roam freely around the Strip would've resulted in a bigger P.R. nightmare for Israel — and Hamas managed to pull some media doozies despite the closure.
If 93rd place on some NGO's list is the price Israel has to pay to re-establish deterrence and get some peace and quiet for the families of Sderot and western Negev, I can live with that.
UPDATE October 22: According to Robert Fisk, we're witnessing the end of an era for free Lebanese journalism.
