Ramallah-20.9.2017

The Palestinian Center for Development and Media Freedoms (MADA) welcome the intensive efforts being made to end the internal political division in Palestine and the hopes and optimism that have been raised among the Palestinian people from these efforts. We urge the Palestinian leaders who will meet tomorrow in Cairo to make clear decisions to end the abhorrent division and its negative consequences on freedom of expression,  and work hard to implement these decisions effectively on the ground. We would like to recall the most important negative results of the division on the freedom of the press and expression and their deterioration over the past 10 years, which can therefore be summarized  in:

1) The rise in the number of violations against the media freedoms in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, Since the beginning of 2008 until the end of last September, we monitored ( 1,063) violations against the media freedoms committed by Palestinian parties in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, in addition to dozens of other serious violations during the first months following the internal division on 15.6. 2007.

2)  Preventing the entry of three daily Palestinian newspapers (Alquds, Al Ayyam and al Hayat Al jadidah ) into the Gaza Strip, and preventing the printing and distribution of the "Resalah" and "Palestine" newspapers in the West Bank, which continued for several years.

3) The fighting, division and the chaos opened wide door for serious attacks on the media and journalists, Such as the seizure of headquarters and property of media outlets with armed forces  and closing some of them and targeting some journalists as well. (For example, the official Palestinian media institutions were seized in Gaza Strip, and the editor of the Palestine newspaper that belongs to Hamas Mustafa al-Sawaf was subjected to an assassination attempt in Gaza, While gunmen opened fire on the house of journalist Mustafa Sabri in the West Bank city of Qalqiliya and many other similar serious incidents, some of which involved armed groups that were affiliated with or operated on behalf of the parties

4) The cycle of violent attacks has widened in general. For example, a total of 60 journalists were arrested and detained by Palestinian authorities in the West Bank and in Gaza in 2008, several of whom were tortured and indictments were filed against many journalists over the past 10 years.

5) The number of violations fluctuated in relation to the state of silence or escalation of the relationship between the two sides of the divide.  In March 2011 for example, Palestine witnessed the largest number of violations recorded in that year due to the organization of youth rallies calling and demanding for ending the division.

6) The attacks against media freedoms during these years focused on three main types: arrests, summonses and investigations, and prevention of coverage, most of which is related to the state of division and its repercussions.  These three types accounted for 60% of the total Palestinian violations monitored in the West Bank in 2016, which came within 14%, as 14 different  kinds of abuse. In Gaza Strip, 71% of the violations monitored in 2016 came within the two types calls for investigations and detaining and arrests.  Noting that the total number of violations recorded in Gaza came that year within 9 types.

7) It has been observed  the perpetrators of violations hadn’t been holding accountable in most cases, It was also noted that the security services ignored the court decisions concerning the release of journalists and the use of the revolving door which means the release of some for a few minutes or limited periods, and then re-arrest, especially during the first period of division.

8) It has been observed  the sharp increase of self-censorship among journalists and activists, an increase of hate speech specially in the first years that follow the division.

9)The decline of the status of Palestine globally in terms of respect for the freedom of press and expression specially in the first years that follow the division.

10) In terms of the legal environment related to the press and its development and the protection of its freedom, the past ten years have not witnessed any positive development in terms of enacting laws that protect the freedom of the press and contribute to their development.

 The contrary is what happened the law of the Higher Information Council was adopted in 2016 away from its idea and purpose, and CSOs efforts that have been made, (following a wide-ranging move initiated by MADA and with the active participation of the Culture and Information Department of the PLO under the leadership of Dr. Hanan Ashrawi and many other human rights and media organizations the law was frozen).

The Electronic Crimes Law, which violates freedom of expression, press and privacy, and the arrest of journalists and activists pursuant to Article 20, has been passed recently. The Government has agreed this month to amend the law after the CSOs including MADA, and international  pressure, and is in consultation with them  recently to amend the law.

The government is still delaying the approvment of the access to information law and other bills that have been called for approval for many years, despite promises made in this regard.