Ramallah – 24 November 2011: The Palestinian Center (MADA) for Development and Media Freedoms sent letters to President Mahmoud Abbas, Hamas leader Khaled Meshal and various representatives within the two governments and PLO with a petition to allow for the distribution of previously banned Palestinian newspapers.
MADA General Director Mousa Rimawi said that the conditions were ripe for an end to the limited media freedoms and partisanship resulting from the political division. The reconciliation agreement signed in May of this year saw a decrease in violations against journalists and media outlets, including the reinstatement of Al-Aqsa TV broadcasts in the West Bank and Gaza.
Rimawi added that this step led to MADA filing a personal request to allow various Palestinian newspapers to print and distribute across the territories.
Rimawi said that MADA has also launched a petition in cooperation with journalists and various civil society actors to campaign for journalistic freedoms, with the hope to enhance and promote freedom of expression in Palestine.
