Palestinians to boycott US reception on Press Freedom Day

Twenty Palestinian unions, including the Palestinian Journalists Syndicate (PJS), called Wednesday for a boycott of a reception organized by the US consulate in Jerusalem to be held in Ramallah on Thursday on the occasion of World Press Freedom Day, according to a statement issued by the unions. They said the call came “to protest US policies toward our national issues, particularly the issue of the prisoners and freedom of the Palestinian press in light of a rise in criminal Israeli belligerence against journalists without hearing one word of condemnation by the US Administration or its representatives.” The US consulate has invited Palestinian journalists to a reception planned for Thursday in Ramallah to mark press freedom day. The Palestinian Government as well as the PJS are planning separate receptions on this occasion as well.