Although Israel ranked 46th for its domestic press, it was nonetheless ranked 149th, or fourth from last, for the freedom of the press it allows in the Palestinian or other areas it controls on an extra-territorial basis, the report for 2008 indicated.
The United States also fared much worse in conflict zones it is involved in, and while ranked 41st for the freedom it accords to domestic media, it fell to 119th for extra-territorial press freedom in its conflict zones.
"Democracies embroiled in wars outside their own territory, such as the United States or Israel, fall further in the rankings every year, while several emerging countries, especially in Africa and the Caribbean, give better and better guarantees for media freedom," the report noted.
The report had a stark warning for the worlds democracies, where it complained that press freedoms are being stripped away because of motives of fighting terrorism or protecting national security after the attacks against several Western countries since September 11, 2001.
"The post-9/11 world is now clearly drawn," Reporters without Borders said. "Destabilised and on the defensive, the leading democracies are gradually eroding the space for freedoms." The report warned that authoritarian but influential regimes were also taking advantage of this situation and disarray among democratic systems, which have been shaken by attacks and are involved in costly and lengthy wars outside their territories.
"The economically most powerful dictatorships arrogantly proclaim their authoritarianism, exploiting the international communitys divisions and the ravages of the wars carried out in the name of the fight against terrorism.
Religious and political taboos are taking greater hold by the year in countries that used to be advancing down the road of freedom," the report added.
In Europe, the press freedom body particularly noted declines in freedom in France (35th), Spain (36th) and Italy (44th), while many smaller nations in the developing world had recorded progress, particularly African nations like Namibia (24th) and Ghana (32nd). Several small Caribbean nations were also indicated as having made significant progress.
Most progress was noted in nations that have parliamentary democracies and are not at war.
