Fatah will respect the decision of the members of the Palestinian Journalists Syndicate and the results of their upcoming election, according to reported comments by a member of the Fatah Central Committee, Mahmud Al-Aloul.
The union elections being held are the first in over a decade, and come after considerable controversy about the arrest warrant issued against the union’s leader , Na’im Toubassi, by the Palestinian Attorney-General.
Hours after threateneing to arrest Na’im Toubassi, the Palestinian Authority cancelled the arrest warrant so as not to be seen to interfere in the historic elections for a new union leadership.
The statement that Fatah was taking a hands-off attitude , reported on the Ma’an News Agency website, came after the arrest of freelance journalist Mustafa Sabri, a member of the union, who was was detained after a visit to his house in Qalqiliya by the Palestinian Authority police.
Fatah’s Al-Aloul met with the union syndicate in Ramallah, and assured them that the movement felt they were a historic force and a Palestinian institution, and would not stand in the way of free elections for the group on 5 January.
The day before the journalist union members voted the Palestinian Center for Development and Media Freedoms (MADA) reported that Mustafa Sabri had been arrested by the Palestinian Preventive Security (PPS). MADA issued a statement demanding his immediate release.
This is not the first incident involving this journalist. Last November Sabri was summoned by the Palestinian intelligence services to answer questions about his media work.
MADA also released their regular report on violations of media freedoms in the Palestinian Territories on the same day as they protested the arrest of Mr Sabri, and noted that in December there had been a marked decline in violations of journalists rights.