Ramallah – 25th April 2026 — The Palestinian Center for Development and Media Freedoms (MADA) condemns the serious threats directed at Watan Media Network in connection with its professional coverage of the Palestinian local council elections.
According to Watan’s Editor-in-Chief, Moammar Arabi, in a statement to MADA, he and several of his colleagues have been receiving threatening calls since the beginning of April. These threats followed the Network’s launch of a series of debates dedicated to the 2026 local elections, aimed at ensuring equal opportunities for electoral lists and enabling them to present their programs to the public clearly and transparently.
This professional coverage was met with explicit threats of accusations of treason and death threats targeting the Network’s management and several staff members. As a result, a formal complaint was filed with the Public Prosecutor, in addition to submissions to the Independent Commission for Human Rights and the Central Elections Commission.
MADA affirms that these threats constitute a grave violation of press freedom and represent an unacceptable attempt to intimidate journalists and deter them from fulfilling their role in informing the public, particularly in the context of electoral processes, which require the highest levels of transparency and accountability.
The Center calls on the relevant official authorities to initiate a serious and immediate investigation into these threats, hold those responsible accountable, and take all necessary measures to ensure the protection of journalists and media institutions, thereby guaranteeing a safe environment for media work.
MADA further underscores the importance of respecting freedom of opinion and expression, rejecting incitement and violence against journalists, and emphasizes that safeguarding a free and independent media is a fundamental pillar of any sound democratic process.
