March 31, 1999
His Excellency Benjamin Netanyahu
Prime Minister of the State of Israel
Office of the Prime Minister
3 Kaplan Street
Kiryat Ben-Gurion
Jerusalem, Israel
Your Excellency,
The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), a non-governmental organization of journalists devoted to upholding press freedom worldwide, is writing to express deep concern about the Israeli government’s decision to shut down the Jerusalem office of the Palestine News Agency (WAFA), the official news agency of the Palestinian Authority (PA).
On March 29, 1999, a ministerial committee headed by Your Excellency ordered the closure of WAFA along with that of two other Jerusalem-based Palestinian offices – the Palestinian Prisoners Club and the office of the Palestinian Authority’ s deputy minister for Christian affairs. According to journalists, the closure of WAFA is expected to be carried out early next week.
The apparent reason for the move is the Israeli government’s view that the location of WAFA’s office in Jerusalem is illegal and challenges Israel’s sovereignty over the city. In yesterday’s edition of The Jerusalem Post, Your Excellency was quoted as justifying the closures by saying that “all of these are official PA offices in Jerusalem, and their activity is unacceptable to us. Jerusalem is the capital of Israel, and only of Israel. “
The Committee to Protect Journalists views the Israeli government’s closure of WAFA as a flagrant violation of the right of journalists to “seek, receive, and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers,” as guaranteed by Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. It is CPJ’s firm position that this internationally guaranteed right to free expression applies to journalists of all ideological persuasions, whether official or private, and encompasses the right of reporters and editors to perform their professional duties to gather and report news freely. Moreover, we reject the Israeli government’s rationale for the closure-that WAFA’s presence challenges Israeli sovereignty over Jerusalem- and support the right of journalists and news agencies to establish offices for the purpose of newsgathering wherever they deem it appropriate.
We respectfully urge Your Excellency to immediately reverse the closure order imposed on WAFA and to ensure the ability of all journalists to report news and opinion freely without government interference.
Thank you for your attention to this important matter. We look forward to a reply at your earliest convenience.
Sincerely,
Ann K. Cooper
Executive Director
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His Excellency Benjamin Netanyahu
Prime Minister of the State of Israel
Office of the Prime Minister
3 Kaplan Street
Kiryat Ben-Gurion
Jerusalem, Israel