Wide condemnation against Israeli closure of media organization in Jerusalem

Palestine

Published: 2018-04-19 17:40

Last Updated: 2024-03-27 16:57


An image for the notices hanged on the doors of the media organization. (Twitter)
An image for the notices hanged on the doors of the media organization. (Twitter)

Israel’s Defense Minister, Avigdor Liberman, signed an order to close Elia Association for Youth Media in East Jerusalem under the claim of affiliation with the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) and called it a “terrorist” organization, Wafa news agency reported.

The Israeli police hanged the closure notice on the doors of the media organization while there was no one inside its offices, Elia’s director, Ahmad Safadi said.

In response, Secretary-General of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) Executive Committee, Saeb Erekat, released a statement condemning the decision as an attempt to limit Palestinian presence in the holy city.

Erekat described the step as a clear violation of international law that assures the preservation of Palestinian institutions in the city.

“Israel has become aware that video documentation of its violations and illegal practices constitutes a threat to its false claims that it is a democratic state by exposing its systematic repressive policies against our people,” Erekat said in a statement, reported Wafa.

He called for an immediate intervention by international human rights groups in order to put an end to Israel’s violations of Palestinian journalists rights and hold them accountable.

Hanan Ashrawi, a prominent PLO member, also condemned the decision in a statement pointing out that around 40 Palestinian media organizations have been closed since 2000.

The Palestinian Ministry of Information considered the decision part and parcel of the incessant Israeli discriminatory system against Palestinian media organizations and called for the intervention of the International Federation of Journalists and Reporters Without Borders to help protect Palestinian journalists.