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** The Palestinian State Bill: Palestinians Ask That More Arab Repression Not Be Allowed ([link removed])
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by Khaled Abu Toameh • May 5, 2022 at 5:00 am
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* According to the new bill, foreign journalists who do not endorse the Palestinian narrative or who do not "respect the Palestinian identity and history" may soon be banned from operating in PA-controlled areas.
* The same restriction applies to Palestinian media organizations and journalists seeking permits to operate in these territories.
* The PA leadership apparently fears that stories about corruption, anti-Israel incitement and terrorism will prompt Western donors to halt their funding to the Palestinians.
* Unlike other Arab regimes, however, the PA is almost entirely dependent on foreign aid from the US, the European Union and other international donors, who do not seem the least bit bothered by the Palestinian leadership's measures to curb freedom of expression and deprive its people of an independent media.
* In response, several Palestinian human rights and media organizations, including the Palestinian Journalists Syndicate, expressed deep concern and disapproval of the PA leadership's intention to hijack the media.
* The Palestinian Journalists Syndicate also warned that the draft bill, if approved, would have a negative impact on the international community's support for the Palestinians and undermine Palestinians' "dream of a modern Palestinian state that respects basic rights and freedoms."
* Sadly, the Palestinians harbor no hope that their current leaders will work towards establishing a state where public freedoms and human rights are valued and respected.
* The Palestinian Authority in the West Bank and Hamas in the Gaza Strip are corrupt dictatorships that care only about their own interests.
* What remains difficult for Palestinians to understand is the continuing silence of the international community and foreign media towards the human rights violations and restrictions on the institutions of democracy and freedom of speech perpetrated by the Palestinian leaders in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

According to a new draft law proposed by the leadership of the Palestinian Authority (PA), foreign journalists who do not endorse the Palestinian narrative or who do not "respect the Palestinian identity and history" may soon be banned from operating in PA-controlled areas. (Images source: iStock)

While the US administration and many countries seem enthusiastic about the establishment of a Palestinian state, the Palestinians themselves are worried that such a state would end up like most of the corrupt and authoritarian regimes in the Arab world.

The Palestinians' concern was recently reinforced when they learned that the Palestinian Authority (PA) is planning to impose even harsher restrictions on the Palestinian and foreign media.

The restrictions are included in a draft law concerning the conditions for the licensing of media organizations operating in PA-controlled territories in the West Bank. The bill, currently being studied by the PA government, may soon be approved, turning it into official law.

According to the new bill, foreign journalists who do not endorse the Palestinian narrative or who do not "respect the Palestinian identity and history" may soon be banned from operating in PA-controlled areas.

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