Ramallah – May, 4th, 2022: 29 years after the adoption of the World Press Freedom Day by the United Nations “May,3rd” , Violations against media freedoms continue to escalate dramatically, which have not stopped expanding in Palestine as a result of the increasing attacks by the Israeli occupation forces. Journalists and media outlets are still the target of a series of grave violations in order to silence them and discourage them from covering the violations of the occupation forces towards Palestinians, as MADA Center monitored last year a total of 562 violations against media freedoms in the West Bank and Gaza Strip (the Israeli occupation committed 368 of them, while Palestinian sides committed 123 violations).
A large percentage of those numbers fall into the circle of grave and dangerous attacks on the lives of journalists, which illustrate the conditions under which journalists and media outlets work in Palestine and the extent of the challenges they face to carry out their job.
“MADA” consider the crimes committed against media freedoms and journalists in the field as evidence of the importance of the role that journalists and the media play in revealing the violations of the occupation and conveying them to the world, the latest of which is the grave violations that journalists, especially who works in Jerusalem, were subjected to during covering the incursions of the army The occupation of Al-Aqsa Mosque during the holy month of Ramadan, as dozens of them were hit with rubber bullets and suffocated, in addition to the severe beating of others.
“MADA” also see with great concern the persecution of journalists by harassing them with arrests, the latest of which is the arrest of journalist Ayman Qawariq while returning from Jerusalem through Qalandia Military Checkpoint on April,28th, which was decided to extend his detention until May,9th.
The Palestinian Center for Development and Media Freedoms “MADA”, while highly appreciating the important role played by Palestinian journalists and media outlets, salutes them on the 3rd of May for all the efforts made by them in exposing the crimes of the occupation and its various practices against the Palestinian people and against them, and demands the release of the detainees in Israeli prisons.
MADA reiterates its continuation of its efforts alongside all partners, institutions and human rights bodies concerned with press freedom in Palestine and the world in order to protect media freedoms, and to enf impunity for perpetrators of attacks against journalists and bring them to justice.
