Middle East Monitor / July 16, 2020
At least 237 violations against Palestinian media freedoms were recorded by specialist Palestinian NGO in the first half of 2020, most of them committed by Israeli occupation forces.
In a report issued yesterday, the Palestinian Centre for Development and Media Freedoms (MADA), found that the first half of 2020 witnessed a decline of violations against media freedoms compared to the same period last year when 330 violations were recorded.
The violations, MADA said, affected a total of 130 journalists – 118 male and 12 female.
According to the report, the decline in the number of violations is a result of the lockdown to stem the spread of the coronavirus and the halt of the weekly ‘Great March of Return’ protests in Gaza.
The report found that most violations were attempts to silence the Palestinian narrative in order to allow only pro-Israel voices to be heard.
Meanwhile, Facebook violations against Palestinian content and journalists increased to between 20-27 per cent.
Facebook, MADA said, it closed or suspended accounts and personal pages of 64 journalists without providing any explanations or clarifications.
