The month of July witnessed a relative decrease in the number of violations against media freedoms in Palestine, compared to what it was in the previous two months (May and June), when it recorded a sharp increase (which witnessed a total of 167 and 123 attacks, respectively). ).
The Palestinian Center for Development and Media Freedoms “MADA” monitored and documented during the month of July a total of 43 violations against media freedoms in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, 16 of which were committed by the Israeli occupation, while various Palestinian parties committed 23 violations (five of which were unintentionally stoned by protesters), while Facebook has 3 violations, in addition to one violation committed by the BBC administration, which dismissed Palestinian journalist Tala Halawa because of a tweet she had published several years ago and before she started working with the BBC.
The reason for the relative decline in total violations during July is the decrease in the range of activities and field events that took place in the West Bank and Gaza Strip during this month compared to the previous month, and the repressions that were interspersed with that aimed at covering up what is happening by targeting the media and journalists.
Mada indicated that what raises concern is the continued deterioration of freedom of media and expression, whether through practice or decisions. In addition to the serious Palestinian violations, the Council of Ministers issued a decision to cancel Article 22 of the Code of Conduct and Ethics for Public Service, which affirms the public employee’s right to Expressing his opinion on 5/7/2021, in clear and clear violation of Article 19 of the Basic Palestinian Law.
Israeli violations
committed Israeli occupation during the last month , 16 attacks against media freedoms, fall mostly within the serious attacks on journalists / was where 8 were injured by rubber bullets and tear gas direct and one is assaulted, along with operations directly targeting the shooting of a group of journalists , data To keep them away and prevent them from covering.
These attacks/injuries included journalists Tariq Sarkaji (a rubber bullet in the shoulder), Fayhaa Khanfar (a gas bomb in the right leg), Abdullah Al-Bahsh (he was wounded twice in two separate incidents with rubber bullets), Mujahid Tabanja (rubber in the thigh) and Ayman Al-Nubani with a sponge bullet in the Houd, Izzat Jamjoom (a beating that caused him to bleed), in addition to targeting journalists Khaled Bdeir, Ibrahim Rantisi, Mahmoud Khallaf, Amid Shehadeh, Tariq Sarkaji and Fayhaa Khanfar to prevent them from covering.
Palestinian violations
The month of July witnessed a total of 23 Palestinian violations against media freedoms, 22 of which occurred in the West Bank and one violation in the Gaza Strip, noting that five of these violations consisted of “unintended” minor injuries from protesters’ stones.
Most of these violations were among the serious attacks on journalists and media work, the most prominent of which were the arrests and the violent physical attacks that took place and preceded them, which affected a number of journalists while covering a sit-in in front of the Palestinian police headquarters in the city of Al-Bireh on the evening of July 5, which affected journalists Amid Shehadeh, Muhammad Hamayel, Aqil Awawda, Muammar Orabi, Hend Sherida, and Mays Abu Ghosh, in addition to the Palestinian police preventing a group of journalists from covering the arrest of political activists in Ramallah, and the incitement operations that targeted some media outlets and journalists through social networking sites. The Palestinian Ministry of Information closed the office of J-Media, claiming there was a defect in the license, and injured five journalists with stones from protesters while covering clashes in the town of Beit Ummar, in addition to the attack by security forces in Gaza on Al-Shabab Radio reporter Muhammad Bakr al-Louh while he was giving interviews about the high school exam. in Deir al-Balah.
Facebook:
Facebook committed three violations against media freedoms this month, represented by blocking the Shehab News Agency page, which has about 7 and a half million followers, restricting the follow-up of the Quds News Network page, which is also followed by several million people, and closing the page of Omar Nazzal, a member of the General Secretariat of the Journalists Syndicate.
