Ramallah/PNN/
The month of January witnessed an increase in the number of violations against media freedoms in Palestine, as Mada Center monitored and documented a total of (27) violations compared to (17) violations that were monitored during the month of last December, bringing the increase in the number of violations to 63% compared to the month Previous.
The violations were distributed during the month of January to (18) attacks perpetrated by Israeli parties, (3) attacks committed by Palestinian parties in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, and (6) violations committed by social media networks sites.
The Israeli violations came at the first stage, not only in terms of its number but also in terms of its type and the extent of its danger to media freedoms. The physical injuries committed by the occupation alone constituted 72% of the total Israeli attacks.
Israeli Violations:
During the first month of 2022, the Israeli occupation committed 67% of the total violations of the month. The number of these violations reached (18) of the total (27) violations that were monitored against media freedoms in the West Bank, including occupied Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip. These attacks affected a total of 12 journalists and three media crews.
The Israeli attacks included the physical assault on (11) journalists while performing their work in the field: Fayez Abu Rumaila, Rima Al-Amla, Khalil Abu Arab, Muhammad Al-Khatib and Iyad Al-Hashlamoun working for Palestine TV/freelance photographer Ibrahim Al-Singlawi, photographer Muhammad Al-Sharif/ and photographer Dephné Lemelin working for AFP, J-Media photographer Abdel Mohsen Shalaldeh, reporter Nasir Thabet was also injured and targeted to prevent coverage, photojournalist Moatasem Saqf Al-Hait working for Quds News Network, and photographer Ahmed Gharabla
As for the media crews,Al-Ghad TV crew was obstructed by settlers while covering a demonstration by settlers in the city of Jerusalem, while the settlers verbally assaulted the Al-Jazeera TV crew and obstructed their work in front of the Israeli government headquarters in Jerusalem, while the J-media staff was detained for 3 hours at (Dotan) military checkpoint.
Social Media Networks Violations:
The number of violations of social media networks sites increased during the month of January to reach (6) violations, representing 22% of all violations committed, affecting two journalists, at a time when it decreased significantly during the previous month, as Mada Center documented only one attack during last December by social networking sites.
All violations of social media networks sites were committed during the past month by “Meta” company, but they were distributed among (4) violations committed by "Facebook" and two violations committed by Instagram.
Facebook restricted two accounts and closed another of the journalist Ali Obeidat, and the Instagram application restricted one account for the same journalist, and the pages of the social media employee at the British Consulate, Manal Abdullah, were deleted from the Facebook and Instagram platforms.
Palestinian Violations:
MADA Center documented 3 violations committed by Palestinian sides in West Bank and Gaza Strip, compared to four violations documented during the past month. Palestinian violations constituted 11% of the total violations during the past month.
The violations were divided into two violations committed by the security in the West Bank. The Preventive Security summoned the journalist and writer Abdel Salam Awad, while the same free journalist arrested Muhammad Thabet and interrogated him.
The third attack came in the form of a summons and investigation, which was subjected to a Syrian satellite correspondent in the Gaza Strip from the Government Information Center.
