Jan. 2, 2012 | International Media Support (IMS)
Violations of press freedoms in the occupied Palestinian territories skyrocketed during the months of the Arab spring uprisings and during its UN bid for statehood
Incidents of arrests, summoning, confiscation of equipment and not least beatings of Palestinian journalists close to doubled in 2011 according to the Palestinian Center for Development & Media Freedoms, MADA. MADA registers violations of press freedoms and registered 170 cases in the months from January to October this year. For comparison, 99 cases were registered in all of 2010. But contrary to earlier years, the majority of the violations this year were carried out by Palestinian authorities.
“There are attacks from both the Israeli and Palestinian side”, says General Secretary of the Palestinian Journalists Syndicate (PJS), Salah Badawi Masharqa, but expresses particular disappointment with the restrictions of press freedom imposed by Palestinian security forces.