Syndicate warns against rise in Israeli attacks on journalists

The Palestinian Journalists Syndicate (PJS) Saturday expressed “grave concern” for the welfare of Palestinian journalists due to a rise in Israeli attacks against them; the last of which was an assault on a Palestinian photojournalist in Nabi Saleh, a village west of Ramallah. Israeli soldiers battered Muheeb Barghouthi while taking pictures of the weekly Friday demonstration against settlements and the wall in Nabi Saleh, injuring him in the head and causing bruises all over his body. The PJS called on human rights organizations, including the International Federation of Journalists, and the United Nation to send fact-finding commissions to the Palestinian Territory to monitor and investigate what it described as “Israeli crimes” against Palestinian journalists. It held Israel responsible for the lives of all Palestinian journalists and considered the continuous Israeli assaults a violation of international law and universal charters that ban attacks against the press. The syndicate called on international organizations to send formal protest letters to Israel against “its brutal and racist policy” and to work to ensure the safety and welfare of the Palestinian press corps, as well as to stress the necessity of providing safety gears and health insurance to all members of the press.