Israel Matzav

Israeli reporters barred from Christmas services in Bethlehem

EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton joined 'moderate' 'Palestinian' President Mahmoud Abbas Abu Mazen at Christmas mass in Bethlehem, but most Israeli reporters were barred from attending (I know one who snuck into the city).

On Tuesday, the Palestinian Authority, which controls the historic Biblical town of Bethlehem, barred Israeli journalists from covering Christmas festivities. Palestinian journalists asked for the Israeli journalists to be expelled from Manger Square; the Israeli journalists thrown out of Bethlehem include reporters from Ha’aretz, i-24 News, Channel One and Arutz Sheva.

This move follows a long campaign from Palestinian journalists to stop Israeli reporters from entering Palestinian-controlled territories in the West Bank at all. Israeli reporters have even been beaten by Palestinians in attempting to cover events in the West Bank. The purpose of such exclusivity: “isolating the Israeli media, which is contributing to misinformation and relaying a false and harmful image of the Palestinian reality.”

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas released a message this week in which he stated that Jesus was “a Palestinian messenger who would become a guiding light for millions around the world.” He added, “As we Palestinians strive for our freedom two millennia later, we do our best to follow his example.”

Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Yigal Palmor shot back that Abbas “should have read the Gospel before uttering such offensive nonsense.” Jesus, of course, was a Jew living in Talmudic-era Israel.

We wouldn't want the truth about the 'Palestinian Authority' to be too widely publicized, would we?

Labels: Abu Mazen, Bethlehem, Catherine Ashton, Christmas, freedom of the press, Palestinian Authority

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 11:15 AM