Kanaan stresses coverage of Palestine on World Press Freedom Day

AMMAN — The ethical and professional responsibility of media outlets is to advocate for the oppressed Palestinian people and expose Israel’s aggressive practices, said the Royal Committee for Jerusalem Affairs in a statement marking World Press Freedom Day on Tuesday.

In the statement, Secretary-General of the committee, Abdullah Kanaan, stressed the unique significance of the Palestinian cause, and Jerusalem in particular as a legitimate historical and religious issue for the Islamic and Arab worlds.

Kanaan highlighted the decades-long systematic ethnic cleansing of the Palestinian people as part of a Zionist and Judaisation plan, carried out under the supervision of the “racist Israeli right-wing government”. 

He noted that anyone who follows global media coverage of the Palestinian cause can sense the popular frustration with Israel's policies and barbaric practices against the Palestinian people, who continue to face occupation and the desecration of their Islamic and Christian holy sites at the hands of Israeli settlers and the Zionist government.

Kanaan further pointed out that the free press in Palestine faces Israeli oppression through targeted assassinations, arrests and the closure of media institutions, including websites, and any media content that mentions the Palestinian people and their humanitarian plight.

In 2022, there were approximately 907 Israeli violations against Palestinian journalists, including the assassinations of journalist Shireen Abu Akleh, a correspondent for Al Jazeera, and journalist Ghufran Warasneh, who was working for a local Palestinian radio station. The same year, 40 journalists were arrested, 17 of whom are still held in Israeli prisons, he noted.

April witnessed 50 violations, including arrests, raids and banning media coverage. Most recently, Israeli Minister of Communications and Public Security Benny Gantz issued a decision to shut down the "Voice of Palestine" radio station, which was followed by the closure of a Palestinian media institution located in Beit Hanina, North of Jerusalem.

Kanaan called on international legal organisations to intervene immediately to stop the Israeli violations, including infringements on press freedoms. 

He also urged the global free press to focus on exposing the crimes of the Israeli occupation and to be aware of the misleading Israeli media discourse.