International call for Israel to release Palestinian journalists

International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) yesterday called on Israel to release the 26 Palestinian journalists it has jailed under administrative detention, Quds Press reported.

In a statement, the IFJ, which convened in Moscow, adopted a draft resolution which was proposed by the Palestinian Journalists’ Syndicate (PJS) regarding the jailed media workers.

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The statement reiterated the “just demands” of the Palestinian prisoners who have begun the third week of a hunger strike in protest against the harsh conditions they are being held in.

According to Quds Press, the IFJ secretariat called for messages to be sent to the Israeli government calling for it to release the 26 journalists, five of whom have been waiting for their trials for more than a year.

The IFJ renewed its condemnation of the Israeli violations against Palestinian journalists which aim to “suppress freedoms”, undermine ability to travel and inflict physical abuse.

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Meanwhile, the PJS described the IFJ’s adoption of this resolution as a “new victory for Palestine, its prisoners and its journalists.”

The IFJ represents 600,000 journalists from around the world.