The Palestinian Center for Development and Media Freedoms (MADA) extends its greetings and best wishes to all Palestinian journalists on this day, the annual International Day of Solidarity with Palestinian Journalists. MADA wishes to honour all journalists in the region who face repeated acts of oppression and violence in the line of duty, particularly from Israeli Occupation Forces who continue to commit the highest number and most serious violations against journalists in the territories, including the killing of five journalists in the Gaza Strip: Fadel Shana, Salawi Omar, Ihab al-Wahidi, Basil Faraj, Alaa Murtaja in the past three years; in addition to Palestinian violations, in particular the killing of Italian journalist Vittorio Arregoni in Gaza Strip in last April.
We have stressed repeatedly that it is difficult to precipitate a decline in the type and numbers of violations against journalists without an end to the belligerent Israeli occupation, which began in 1967. Recent years have also seen a significant increase in the number of Palestinian perpetrated violations as a result of the internal political divisions; which also served to reinforce self-censorship among journalists and media outlets for fear of retribution.
Despite these on-going issues MADA remains optimistic after the events of this year, particularly the signing of the reconciliation agreement between Fatah and Hamas in May 2011, which lead to a marked decline in violations during May and June. The initial effects however seem to have receded, with a significant escalation of violations seen in August.
On this day, we reiterate our call for all parties and bodies, be they civilian, governmental or military, to respect journalists’ right to freedom of expression in the occupied Palestinian territories, and repeat our demands for the legal accountability of perpetrators and justice for their victims.
MADA wishes to congratulate all Palestinian journalists, who despite the risks, obstacles and challenges continue to serve global communities with their tireless dedication and professionalism and have this year deservedly won numerous local, regional and international awards.
