H.E. Ariel Sharon
Prime Minister
3 Kaplan Street
Kiryat Ben-Gurion
Jerusalem
Israel

Fax: (+ 972-2) 513 950

Vienna, 13 May, 2004

Your Excellency

The International Press Institute (IPI), the global network of editors, media executives and leading journalists in over 120 countries is deeply concerned over your government’s unwillingness to issue press cards to any Palestinian journalists.

According to IPI sources, Israel has refused to renew press accreditation to Palestinian journalists since 2001 on the grounds that they pose a potential security threat by being Palestinians. After being challenged legally by the Reuters news agency and Al-Jazeera satellite television network on the issue, the Israeli Government Press Office was found to be acting illegally in a ruling by the Israeli High Court of Justice on 25 April 2004. This ruling, welcomed by campaign groups as a progressive step towards press freedom, said Palestinian journalists should be given press cards if they have been given security clearance to work in Israel. On 11 May, however, the government petitioned the High Court in a last effort to retain its discriminatory practice, claiming that threatening statements from militant Palestinian groups have now made Palestinian journalists a danger to Israeli leaders in particular.

IPI urges your government to revoke your High Court appeal concerning this issue. This constraint on press freedom principles does nothing to enhance Israeli security, whereas a more open information policy would do so. The imposition of this restriction on Palestinian journalists, many of whom work as correspondents for foreign media, not only violates international standards of press freedom, it has also been found to contradict the Constitution of Israel by its highest court.

IPI urges you to accept the fundamental principle of freedom of expression, as stated in Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, according to which journalists have a fundamental right to “seek, receive and impart information”. We sincerely hope that the Palestinian journalists will not be treated in a discriminatory way by the Israeli government in the future.

Thank you for your attention.

Best regards,

Johann P. Fritz
Director