MADA: 2014 The worst, the deadliest, and the hardest year in the history of Palestinian Media

Ramallah – The Palestinian Center for Development and Media Freedoms (MADA) held a press conference at "WATAN media center”, to announce the release of its annual report on the status of media freedoms in the Palestinian territories during 2014.

The opening of the conference was by MADA’s Chairman Dr. Ghazi Hanania, where he described 2014 as “the worst, the deadliest, and the hardest year ever for journalists and media freedoms in Palestine, in terms of the nature and degree of the violence suffered by journalists and media freedoms, and in terms of the number of crimes and violations committed, which rose at a record pace and unprecedented”.

Dr. Hanania stated that the Israeli occupation forces committed a number of 351 crime and violation (112 in Gaza, 239 in the West Bank including Occupied Jerusalem) or the equivalent of more than 75% of the total violations monitored and documented by MADA. While the different Palestine sides committed 114 violation (24 in Gaza and 90 in the West Bank) which is equivalent to 25%.

He added that: “while the murder of 17 journalists and media workers by the Israeli occupation forces topped the other crimes and violations suffered by the Palestinian media freedoms, there was a 108% increase in the number of violations and crimes monitored in 2014 in comparison to 2013”. And he explained that: “in comparison to 2013, the number of Israeli violations increased 132%, while the Palestinian violations increased 46%”.

Dr Hanania ended by thanking the Open Society Foundations for their support of MADA’s monitoring and documenting program, including the issuance of this annual report on violations of media freedoms in Palestine.

Mr. Mousa Rimawi, MADA’s general director, presented the most prominent parts of the center's annual report, which monitored various violations against journalists and media freedoms during the past year.

Rimawi pointed that the Israeli occupation’s violations were committed within 15 types, where the largest number of violations were the serious types of assaults and crimes (killing, physical assaults and injuries, the shelling and destruction of media institutions, the shelling  and destruction of journalists homes, arrests and using journalists as human shields). And he explained that the six types above (the most serious crimes and attacks) constituted 70% of the total crimes and violations committed by the Israeli occupation during 201, and that the number of physical assaults committed by the Israeli occupation in 2014 rose by more than 201% compared to the previous year.

Rimawi mentioned that “the Palestinian violations against media freedoms documented in 2014 was the highest ever since 2008” as he explained that the Palestinian violations rose from 78 violation in 2013 to 114 violation committed in 2014, which is equivalent to a 46% increase.

Rimawi pointed that in 2014, the notable increase in the number of Palestinian violations against media freedoms were documented in the West Bank, and he stated that: “this increase in violations especially in the West Bank was monitored after the signing of the last reconciliation agreement between Fatah and Hamas last April, while it was suppose to result in a breakthrough in the status of public freedoms, including media freedoms and freedom of expression. The real progress that happened was allowing newspapers to circulate freely in the two parts of the country, but the continuation of the division and tension that followed the signing of the reconciliation agreement is what caused an increase in the number of the unjustified violations”.

MADA’s annual report explained that the majority of Palestinian violations of media freedoms in the West Bank and the Gaza strip were concentrated within four types: assaults, call for investigation, threats and prevention from coverage, arrests, they were an equivalent of 87% of the violations committed by Palestinian sides.

Rimawi stated that: “summoning  for investigations carried out by the Palestinian security forces in both the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, remained one of the main types of violation against Palestinian journalists, where in 2014, 31 journalists were summoned for investigation and questioned by Palestinian security forces in the West Bank and Gaza”.

The Palestinian Center for Development and Media Freedoms (MADA) reiterates its condemnation of all violations against media freedoms in Palestine, MADA also stresses the need to prosecute the perpetrators of all these violations, in the forefront the murder of 17 journalist and media worker by the Israeli occupation, and to put an end to the impunity of the perpetrators of these crimes, and bring them to justice to hold back the escalating attacks against media freedoms in Palestine. And MADA calls on Western governments and various international organizations to exercise real pressure on the Israeli occupation authorities to force it to comply with international conventions that guarantee media freedoms and freedom of expression, and to stop its aggression and crimes.

And while MADA welcomes the accession of Palestine to many international conventions and treaties that guarantee the freedom of expression the decision to allow newspapers to circulate in both the West Bank and Gaza, it expresses concern due to the increasing number of violations committed by the Palestinian sides on media freedoms, and MADA emphasizes the need for the official Palestinian bodies to put an end to these violations, which is a violation according to the Palestinian laws related to the freedom of the press and freedom of expression, and MADA emphasizes on holding perpetrators accountable, particularly the physical assaults.