President Moshe Katzav noted yesterday \"yet additional proof of the lack of freedom of expression\" in the Palestinian Authority. He was referring to a proclamation issued by the Palestinian Journalists’ Syndicate calling for “avoiding participation in meetings with the Israeli side and denying the chance to Israelis of opening up channels of normalization.” The proclamation was published following a meeting of Palestinian-Arab journalists with the President two days ago. News of the meeting was carried in only one PA newspaper, Al Quds.
Katzav said that the organization\'s statement was \"a serious blow to freedom of the press, and that \"there is no alternative to openness and dialogue, and never will be, between Israel and the Palestinians.\" The President added that the organization’s position \"expresses standards and norms regarding the repression of ideas that have passed from this world,\" and said he was saddened that \"the Palestinian Journalists’ Syndicate would prefer to aid the libels and incitement instead of dealing with the truth and reality.\"
Katzav said that the organization\'s statement was \"a serious blow to freedom of the press, and that \"there is no alternative to openness and dialogue, and never will be, between Israel and the Palestinians.\" The President added that the organization’s position \"expresses standards and norms regarding the repression of ideas that have passed from this world,\" and said he was saddened that \"the Palestinian Journalists’ Syndicate would prefer to aid the libels and incitement instead of dealing with the truth and reality.\"