24/03/2011 – Ramallah - The Ministry of Information’s office in Bethlehem held a workshop to discuss the violations of media freedoms in the occupied Palestinian territories as documented in The Palestinian Center for Development and Media Freedoms (MADA) 2010 report. The workshop took place in the Palestine Ahliya University headquarters of Bethlehem, West Bank on 22 March 2011.
MADA’s public relations officer Riham Abu Aita highlighted the most importance points in the report, confirming that MADA monitored 218 violations against journalists and media outlets, averaging at 18 violations per month in 2010, a marked increase of 45 violations or 26% on 2009, which saw 173 violations.
Abu Aita added that the majority of reported violations were perpetrated by the Israeli Occupation Forces and settlers with a total of 139 violations in 2010, an increase of 54% compared with 2009. The Palestinian security services in the West Bank and Gaza committed 79 violations, compared with 76 in 2009.
MADA’s report divides violations into 12 categories, the highest reported of which being a physical attacks, with 89 Israeli Occupation Force and 10 Palestinian Security Force attacks on journalists in 2010. Detentions, with 36 (19 IOF and 17 Palestinian forces violations); arrests, with a total of 32 (18 IOF and 14 Palestinian forces violations), and 20 summonses for investigation (3 IOF and 17 by Palestinian forces). In addition to other violations such as the prevention of coverage, prevention of travel, threats, raids, frequency disruption, property damage and the forced closure of media outlets.
The 2010 report also found that of the areas most affected by violations against journalists, Hebron had the highest number of reported incidences perpetrated by Israeli forces. The high density of soldiers in this region - an estimated 2000 deployed to protect approximately 500 ideological settlers - often leads to the harsh implementation of Israel’s unofficial, but nevertheless institutionalized, blackout of media reportage in the region.
Ramallah was the second most affected region with 28 IOF and 10 PA violations, with most occurring at the checkpoints of Qalandia and Al-Atara and the surrounding villages of Bila’in and Ni’lin, hosts to some of the most popular and renowned of the weekly demonstrations. 31 violations occurred in Jerusalem, the majority of which occurred whilst journalists were covering the clashes sparked by Palestinian house demolitions and evictions.
The Deputy Minister of the ministry of Information Almotawakel Taha said that we can’t talk about freedom of expression without a real democratic regime. Taha stressed on the importance of freedom of expression in Palestine, where the media in all Arab country couldn’t change the regime.
The member of Palestinian Journalists Syndicate Hassan Abed Aljawad said that MADA is the only local organization whom specialized in this field, and there is a big need to unite all efforts to enhancing media freedoms in Palestine, to defend the journalists and media outlets.
Analysing this information, workshop participants discussed the reasons for these amplified violations, and thanked MADA for its role in documenting violations and defending media outlets and journalists in Palestine.
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Contact:
Riham Abu Aita
Public Relation Officer
riham@madacenter.org
www.madacenter.org
00970 2 2976519
