Ramallah- 18/11/2018 The Palestinian Center for Development and Media Freedoms (MADA) condemns the unjustified attacks against Palestinian and international journalists by the Israeli occupation forces on Saturday, many of whom were suffocated by tear gas bombs.
A group of journalists took part in a peaceful march near Qalandia checkpoint, north of occupied Jerusalem, organized by the Palestinian Journalists Syndicate in front of Kalandia refugee camp, expressing solidarity with Palestinian journalists and their right to move freely through Israeli checkpoints. However, the occupation forces met these just demands with stun grenades and tear gas canisters, which led to the injury of a group of journalists - including guest journalists who came to participate in a conference in the city of Ramallah - despite the fact that they were identifiable with their press vests and raising their IFJ card.
The march included dozens of local journalists, as well as a number of international journalists members of the International Federation of Journalists besides, to members of Arab Federation Journalists, all were aiming to attend and take part in the international media conference in Ramallah entitled as "Journalists under fire". The Israeli occupation forces repressed the demonstrators (journalists) who were located around 300 meters from Qalandia checkpoint by firing gas bombs from a launcher installed on a military vehicle, which resulted in the suffocation of dozens of journalists with the gas, including the President of the International Federation of Journalists, "Philip Lorient," Abdel Wahab Zghilat, the head of the freedoms committee at the IFJ, journalist Adriana a member of the Executive Committee of the International Federation of Colombia and a member of the General Secretariat of the Palestinian Journalists Syndicate, Manal Khamis, who was taken to the medical clinic for treatment. The head of the Palestinian journalists syndicate journalist Nasser Abu Bakr was also hit by a gas bomb directly in the right shoulder.
MADA Center assures that international laws have guaranteed citizens the right to peaceful assembly and protest as a form of expression, but the Palestinian people in general and journalists in particular are still exposed to blatant violations of this right by IOF.
Therefore, MADA is gravely concerned over the blatant assaults and reiterates that the culture of impunity enjoyed by the IOF and the international engagement with the occupying state as a state above the law is the main reason behind the continuation of these attacks. MADA Center also calls on all countries to move through international organizations such as the United Nations and the Security Council to hold Israel accountable for these crimes and attacks against journalists who expressed their views in a peaceful manner.
