War erodes respect of press freedoms - media group

By Tamora Vidaillet

PARISOct 22 (Reuters) - The United States and Israel, despite their democratic credentials, fall down badly in their respect for press freedoms in conflict zones, a media group said on Wednesday.

Paris-based Reporters Without Borders (RSF) said the U.S. had slipped to 119th in respect of press freedoms outside its own territory in an annual ranking of more than 160 countries, from a joint ranking at 111 in its previous annual report.

Israel, whose armed forces killed a Palestinian journalist this year for the first time since 2003, was 149th on the list for press freedoms beyond its frontiers, compared with 103rd place in RSF's 2007 rankings.

Reuters cameraman Fadel Shana was killed in April by a shell packed with darts fired from an Israeli tank in the Gaza Strip. Israel's senior military lawyer said troops could not see whether Shana had been operating a camera or a weapon but were nevertheless justified in firing.

Both Israel and the United States moved up the table for 2008 with regard to respect of press freedoms at home.

"Democracies embroiled in wars outside their own territory, such as the United States or Israel, fall further in the ranking every year," the report said.

"Destabilised and on the defensive, the leading democracies are gradually eroding the space for freedoms," it added.

It said countries in the top 20 -- led by Iceland at No. 1 -- had in common that all were parliamentary democracies and none were involved in conflict beyond their borders.