(CPJ/IFEX) – CPJ is deeply concerned about the Israeli government’s decision to shut down the Jerusalem office of the Palestine News Agency (WAFA), the official news agency of the Palestinian Authority (PA). On 29 March 1999, a ministerial committee headed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered the closure of WAFA along with that of two […]
(CPJ/IFEX) – CPJ is deeply concerned about the Israeli government’s
decision
to shut down the Jerusalem office of the Palestine News Agency (WAFA),
the
official news agency of the Palestinian Authority (PA).
On 29 March 1999, a ministerial committee headed by Prime Minister
Benjamin
Netanyahu ordered the closure of WAFA along with that of two other
Jerusalem-based Palestinian offices – the Palestinian Prisoners Club and
the
office of the Palestinian Authority’s deputy minister for Christian
affairs.
According to journalists, the closure of WAFA is expected to be carried
out
early next week.
The apparent reason for the move is the Israeli government’s view that
the
location of WAFA’s office in Jerusalem is illegal and challenges
Israel’s
sovereignty over the city. In the 30 March edition of “The Jerusalem
Post”,
Netanyahu was quoted as justifying the closures by saying that “all of
these
are official PA offices in Jerusalem, and their activity is unacceptable
to
us. Jerusalem is the capital of Israel, and only of Israel.”
CPJ views the Israeli government’s closure of WAFA as a flagrant
violation
of the right of journalists to “seek, receive, and impart information
and
ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers,” as guaranteed by
Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. It is CPJ’s
firm
position that this internationally guaranteed right to free
expression applies to journalists of all ideological persuasions,
whether
official or private, and encompasses the right of reporters and editors
to
perform their professional duties to gather and report news freely.
Moreover, CPJ rejects the Israeli government’s rationale for the
closure -that WAFA’s presence challenges Israeli sovereignty over
Jerusalem-
and supports the right of journalists and news agencies to establish
offices
for the purpose of newsgathering wherever they deem it appropriate.
Recommended Action
Send appeals to the Prime Minister:
imposed
on WAFA and to ensure the ability of all journalists to report news and
opinion freely without government interference
Appeals To
His Excellency Benjamin Netanyahu
Prime Minister of the State of Israel
Office of the Prime Minister
3 Kaplan Street
Kiryat Ben-Gurion
Jerusalem, Israel
Fax: +972 2 664 838 / 697 7839/ 3 691 7915
E-mail: likudl@likud.org.il
Please copy appeals to the source if possible.
