Abdel Nasser Najjar: We will go to UN to denounce Israel

Palestinian journalists have begun an online petition on the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) and Federation of Arab Journalists (FAJ) websites, calling for an end to the restriction of movement of journalists in the country. Abdel Nasser Najjar, leader of the Palestinian Journalists Syndicate said that once all signatures had been collated the petition will be taken to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon. The IFJ website which hosts the Freedom of Movement for Palestinian Journalists project, is a union of international journalists that aims to push governments into promoting social justice and journalists’ rights worldwide. It said it supported Palestinian journalists against the oppressive behaviour of Israeli authorities on the freedom of movement and communication. The project was given the go-ahead after a series of intense meetings in Brussels, Dublin and Cairo and has received support from Arabic and international journalists.   On Wednesday, 300 journalists took part in launching the project which began with a peaceful demonstration outside the Israeli Qalandiya checkpoint.  It was suppressed by tear gas and violence by security forces who were called in to quell the rally. Najjar explained the demands of Palestinians were the same as they were ten years ago by international human rights groups and journalists worldwide, which called for an end to Israeli attacks.   "Journalists in Palestine have been under attack since 1967" he explained, with 12 people being killed over the last decade for expressing their right to freedom of movement.   “The most prominent form of these attacks was limiting the freedom of movement of Palestinian journalist, whether in West Bank or Jerusalem, across dozens of Israeli checkpoints, as well as preventing more that 98 percent of Palestinian journalists from entering occupied Jerusalem.” He added that a few weeks ago Palestinian journalists had the won the IFJ Executive Committee elections putting them on the executive board.   International journalist, he said, need to show their support through signing the petition, and not just by making statements of condemnation.