Violations of Media Freedoms in Palestine ANNUAL2020 REPORT Violations of Media Freedoms in Palestine ANNUAL REPORT 2020 Conducted by: General Supervision and Audit Mousa Rimawi Prepared and Edited: Ghazi Bani Odeh Coordination: Shireen Al-Khatib Project coordinator: Sharif Haj Ali Documentation: Field researchers in the West Bank and Gaza MADA’s coordinator in Gaza Strip: Ahmad Hammad Dissemination: Rasha Sarhan Violations of Media Freedoms in Palestine ANNUAL REPORT 2020 © All rights reserved 2020 The Palestinian Center for Development and Media Freedoms MADA This report has been prepared with the support of European Union The content of this report does not reflect the official opinion of the European Union. المحتوياتCONTENTS فهرسTABLE OF Introduction: ........................................................................................ 5 Israeli Violations .................................................................................. 8 The Most Serious Israeli Violations ............................................................9 Physical Assaults ........................................................................................10 Arrests ..............................................................................................................13 Targeting Media Agencies ......................................................................15 Prevention from Coverage .................................................................... 16 Facebook Company Violations ........................................................18 Palestinian Violations .......................................................................20 Palestinian Violations in the West Bank .................................................21 Palestinian Violations in Gaza Strip ........................................................ 22 Physical Assaults ....................................................................................... 24 Arrests and Torture .................................................................................. 25 Summoning and Questioning ..............................................................27 Recommendations ............................................................................ 28 Details of Violations .......................................................................... 29 INTRODUCTION Despite the decline in the number of violations that were monitored and documented during the year 2020, the state of media freedoms in Palestine has not witnessed any real positive and tangible developments that would serve to move away from the path of practices and trends that prevailed during the preceding years. The decline in the number of violations that were recorded this year was not a result of conditions that reduced the contact between the media, journalists and perpetrators of attacks, but rather, it was a result of the spread of the pandemic, and the measures to combat it through lockdowns and limiting movement. Another reason is also the halting of Gaza’s “Great Marches of Return” which are peaceful protests that took place near the separating fence in the Gaza Strip.1 The year 2020 began with a nearly full closure, during which citizens were locked home for nearly two months. Therefore, all aspects of activity and potential contact were almost completely paralyzed, which led among other results to reducing the chances of violations against journalists that occur mostly in the field and decreasing them to almost zero. The same applies in varying degrees over most of the months of the past year, as almost every month of the year 2020 has witnessed various lockdown measures depending on the overall situation, this included complete closure of certain governorates. The pandemic has also led to a general decrease in the number and size of various popular protest activities which usually entail interaction and direct contact with journalists that often lead to attacks against journalists who cover them. In addition to the repercussions of the Corona pandemic and the measures it imposed, the stopping of the Great Marches of Return in Gaza Strip has led to a reduction in the Israeli violations in the Gaza to reach zero, unlike previous years, due to the absence of almost any opportunity for contact, as well as the continuous blockade on the Gaza that reinforces the “absence of direct contact”. With regard to social media companies, they have continued the same approach in fighting Palestinian content; which is portrayed in closing and blocking dozens of pages of journalists or media institutions, with various arguments related to what they call “violating their publishing standards” or claiming that this is a result of what they consider “incitement.” î Violations: The year 2020 witnessed a decline in the total number of violations against media freedoms in Palestine. This was a result of three main factors as the following: 1 The Peaceful marches of return were launched on 3/30/2018 and continued to be organized on a weekly and semi-regular basis with the participation of thousands of citizens until they stopped at the end of 2019 and the beginning of 2020. The marches witnessed widespread attacks affecting dozens of journalists and that were covering the event, which amounted to the death of two journalists who were covering the marches by the Israeli soldiers. 2020 Violations of Media Freedoms in Palestine 5 First: The decrease in popular activities against the occupation and settlements in the West Bank, and the cessation of popular marches at the borders of the Gaza Strip, which led to the disappearance of the Israeli occupation’s attacks there, knowing that the Israeli Occupation is considered the primary perpetrator and one with the most dangerous attacks committed against journalists and the media in Palestine. Second: The lockdown measures that have been taken as part of the public endeavors to combat the Corona pandemic and the consequent reduction in the opportunities for direct contact between journalists and security services. Third: The operations of fighting Palestinian content carried out by social media networks, foremost of which is Facebook, and what it has done during the past years in terms of blocking and closing the pages of hundreds of journalists, pushing Palestinian journalists to practice self-censorship over what they publish; out of fear and anticipation of closing their pages or banning them from publishing through them, which led, in one of its results, to a decrease in the number of violations committed by Facebook against Palestinian journalists, compared to what it was in the previous year.2 (Violations against media freedoms in Palestine in the year 2020 based on the party that committed the violation) Israel Israel Palestinian Palestinian Social Media Party Others Total (WB) (GS) parties (WB) parties (GS) Platforms Number 210 5 37 59 95 2 408 2 Note: Facebook’s violations against media outlets and journalists decreased relatively from last year, despite the fact that the general total number against various Palestinian groups increased, indicating that the decline did not come from Facebook as much as it was the result of extra caution by journalists and their practice of self-censorship for what they post. 6 2020 Violations of Media Freedoms in Palestine (Violations against journalists and media freedoms in Palestine during the past ten years) Social Palestinian Occupation’s media Year Parties’ Others Total violations platforms violations violations 2011 100 106 0 0 206 2012 164 74 0 0 238 2013 151 78 0 0 229 2014 351 114 0 0 465 2015 407 192 0 0 599 2016 249 134 0 0 383 2017 376 154 0 0 530 2018 455 129 0 0 584 2019 297 200 181 0 678 2020 215 96 95 2 408 Total 2765 1277 276 2 4320 During the year 2020, the Palestinian Center for Development and Media Freedoms “MADA” has monitored and documented a total of 408 violations in the West Bank (including occupied Jerusalem) and Gaza Strip, of which the Israeli occupation committed 215 attacks (equivalent to about 53%)3 while various Palestinian parties committed a total of 96 violations in the West Bank and Gaza (about 24%), and social media companies committed 95 violations (about 23%), while other parties committed other violations.4 These attacks affected a total of 250 people, including 230 (male) journalists, 20 (female) journalists, and 6 media institutions employing dozens of journalists, making such attacks that are targeting media institutions among the most serious violations of press freedom; due to its direct, indirect or far-reaching results and repercussions. For example, the Israeli occupation authorities closed off the offices of Palestine TV in the city of Jerusalem and continues to prevent it from operating there, as well as prohibiting the work and appearance of all its staff members there for the second year in a row.5 3 When calculating the percentage of violations by each side, the fractions were rounded to the nearest whole number. 4 These two violations are: the burning of the car of the writer, Nadia Harhash, while it was in front of her home in Jerusalem by an unknown party, and the second is the dismissal of journalist Iyad Hamad by the administration of the Associated Press. 5 On November 20, 2010, a force of the Israeli occupation police and intelligence raided the Palestine TV office in Jerusalem, which is hosted by the Al-Arz Company, searched it, confiscated its contents, interrogated and summoned television workers, and closed it by a decision issued by the Israeli Minister of 2020