Palestinian journalists want boycott of Peres meet

Chairman of Fatah-affiliated Palestinian Journalists Syndicate warns against Arab journalists meeting with President Peres.

By KHALED ABU TOAMEH
President Shimon Peres speak at Histadrut convention 370 (photo credit: Mark Neiman/GPO)
President Shimon Peres speak at Histadrut convention 370
(photo credit: Mark Neiman/GPO)
The Palestinian Journalists Syndicate in the West Bank has called for boycotting a meeting planned for Wednesday between President Shimon Peres and Arab journalists.
Abdel Nasser Najjar, the chairman of the Fatah-affiliated syndicate, warned that punitive measures would be taken against journalists who attend the meeting in Jerusalem.
Najjar pointed out that the planned meeting comes in wake of tough security measures against Palestinian reporters and photographers who covered US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s visit to Jerusalem earlier this week.
The journalists complained against “humiliating security measures” to which they were subjected before being allowed to see Clinton. Some complained that they had been requested to take off their clothes at security checks.
On Tuesday Palestinian journalists in Ramallah staged a sit-in condemning the security measures.
The syndicate also urged the Palestinian Authority government to subject Israeli journalists to strict security measures when they visit the West Bank.
Najjar said that if the government does not comply, the syndicate would push for restrictions on the movement of Israeli journalists in PAcontrolled territories.
He said the syndicate was planning to send a letter to Clinton detailing the tough security measures.
Last month, the syndicate banned Palestinian journalists from meeting with their Israeli counterparts under the pretext that such encounters are designed to promote normalization with Israel.