His Excellency Ariel Sharon
Prime Minister
Jerusalem
Israel

Vienna, 24 October 2001

Your Excellency,

The International Press Institute (IPI), the global network of editors, media executives and leading journalists, strongly condemns the decision of the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) to close the villages of Beit Reema and Deir Ghassana to journalists.

According to our sources, on 24 October, the IDF refused journalists access to Beit Reema, a village on the outskirts of the West Bank city of Ramallah, and Deir Ghassana, another West Bank village. Both Palestinian villages have been declared closed military zones and the media have been prevented from entering. Early Israeli and Palestinian news reports had stated that several villagers had been killed as a result of Israeli army incursions into the villages, which started on the morning of 24 October.

This latest violation of press freedom appears to be part of a concerted effort by the IDF to control what is being reported about the resumption of armed hostilities in the region.

IPI regards these restrictions on journalists and media outlets as gross violations of everyone’s right to “seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers”, as guaranteed by Article 19 of the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights. We call upon Your Excellency to ensure that these acts are reversed immediately and unconditionally. We further urge you to ensure that journalists in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories are allowed to carry out their profession safely and without further harassment.

We thank you for your attention.

Yours sincerely,

Johann P. Fritz
Director