Khaled Abu Toameh
It's official: the Palestinian Authority does not want foreign
journalists to work in territories under its control in the West Bank
unless they receive permission in advance from the Palestinian Ministry
of Information.
The decision (http://www.pjs.ps/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=771%3A2013-03-24-08-44-58&catid=36%3A2010-11-24-11-47-01&Itemid=2&lang=en) was taken
earlier this week by the Palestinian Ministry of Information and the
Palestinian Journalist's Syndicate -- a body controlled by
Fatah-affiliated journalists.
Foreign journalists who ignore the latest restriction face arrest by
Palestinian Authority security forces, said Jihad Qawassmeh, member of
the Palestinian Journalist's' Syndicate.
He warned that any Palestinian journalist who helps international
media representatives enter the Palestinian Authority-controlled
territories without permission would face punitive measures.
"The Palestinian security forces are entitled to arrest any person
who enters the State of Palestine without permission," Qawassmeh added.
The new decision is directed primarily against Israeli journalists
who cover Palestinian affairs. Recently, many Palestinian journalists
complained that it was unacceptable that their Israeli colleagues were
being allowed to operate freely in Palestinian territories while they
did not have permission to enter Israel. They also complained that the
Israeli Government Press Office was refusing to issue them press
credentials.
The Palestinian journalists demanded that the Palestinian Authority
impose restrictions on the work of both Israeli and international
reporters.
The Palestinian journalists' claim that they are not free to work in
Israel and are being deprived of Israeli press cards stands in contrast
to their calls for boycotting Israel.
The Palestinian Journalist's Syndicate has long been opposed to
"normalization" with Israel, and bans its members from holding meetings
with Israeli colleagues. Some Palestinian journalists who defied the ban
were recently expelled from the syndicate.
So while the Palestinian journalists are promoting a boycott of
Israel, they are also demanding that the Israeli Government issue them
with press cards so they can enter Israel.
Besides reflecting hypocrisy on the part of these Palestinian
journalists, the latest restriction serves as a reminder that the
Palestinian Authority is not much different from most Arab
dictatorships.
Under these dictatorships, foreign journalists need to obtain
permission from the relevant authorities to enter the country to cover a
story. In many cases, the authorities assign a "minder" to guide or
escort the journalists to make sure that they see and hear only what the
dictators want.
The Palestinian Authority, which has often displayed a large degree
of intolerance toward journalists who refuse to serve as a mouthpiece
for its leaders, wants to work only with sympathetic reporters.
The timing of the ban is no coincidence. It came in the aftermath of
US President Barack Obama's visit to Ramallah and Bethlehem, where
Palestinian protesters set fire to and trampled on his pictures. The
protests seriously embarrassed the Palestinian Authority, especially
because they underscored the large gap between its leaders and the
street.
While the Palestinian Authority continues to talk about making peace
with Israel, many Palestinians are opposed to the idea; they argue that
the leadership in Ramallah does not have a mandate to make any
concessions to Israel.
These objections appeared in addition to some protests also directed
against Mahmoud Abbas and his policies, especially against his declared
opposition to an armed struggle against Israel and an alliance with the
US and the West.
Abbas and the Palestinian Authority leaders went out of their way to
show Obama that they are in full control and that they enjoy the backing
of the overwhelming majority of Palestinians. But TV footage and news
reports of the anti-Obama demonstrations threatened to spoil their
effort to persuade Obama.
Particularly disturbing is that representatives of the international
media have not protested against the Palestinian Authority's threat to
restrict the journalists' work and even arrest them. One can only
imagine the response of the international media had the Israeli
authorities issued a similar ban or threat.
It also remains to be seen whether human rights organizations and groups that claim to defend freedoms of media will react.
Once the ban goes into effect, officials of the Palestinian Authority
Ministry of Information will find themselves serving as censors and
editors of all news items concerning the Palestinians. Unless, of
course, the foreign journalists raise their voices and insist on their
right to write their own stories from Ramallah.
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