Palestinian media condemns Bahrain invite of Israeli journalists
A “blow to the Palestinian people and their national rights.”
By KHALED ABU TOAMEHDemonstrators hold Palestinian flags during a protest marking the 71st anniversary of the 'Nakba', or catastrophe, when hundreds of thousands fled or were forced from their homes in the war surrounding Israel's independence in 1948, near the Israel-Gaza border fence, in the southern Gaza Strip May 1(photo credit: IBRAHEEM ABU MUSTAFA / REUTERS)
Palestinian media organizations have condemned Bahrain’s decision to invite Israeli journalists to cover the US-led economic conference, which is expected to be launched in Manama on June 25.Bahrain has allowed journalists from six different media outlets, including The Jerusalem Post, to enter the kingdom to cover the conference, at which the US administration is scheduled to unveil the economic portion of its long-awaited plan for peace in the Middle East.Bahrain does not have diplomatic ties with Israel.Several Palestinian media organizations in the Gaza Strip, including the Palestinian Journalists’ Syndicate, strongly condemned Bahrain’s decision to allow Israeli journalists to report on the “suspicious workshop” – a reference to the economic conference, which the Palestinians are boycotting.The organizations called on Palestinian and Arab journalists to boycott the conference, dubbing it a “blow to the Palestinian people and their national rights.”Condemning the participation of Israeli journalists, the Palestinian media organizations said the Bahrain conference was being held in the context of promoting normalization between the Arab states and Israel.They praised the Palestinian Authority leadership for its rejection of the US peace deal and the Bahrain conference, and called for ending divisions among the Palestinians.The Palestinian organizations called on the Federation of Arab Journalists to boycott the Bahrain conference, punish any journalist who goes there, and reject all forms of Arab media normalization with Israel. They also urged Arab journalists and media outlets to “expose the goals of the Bahrain conference, which aims to liquidate the rights of the Palestinian people.”In addition to the Fatah-dominated Palestinian Journalists’ Syndicate, 14 other media organizations have signed the statement denouncing the decision to allow Israeli journalists to report from the economic conference in Bahrain.Recently, the Jordanian Journalists’ Association also called on its members to boycott the Bahrain conference. The group said it was opposed to any scheme “whose goal is to eliminate the Palestinian cause” and said it rejects all forms of normalization with Israel.
