RAMALLAH, Aug. 5 (Xinhua) -- Dozens of Palestinian journalists took part in a protest Sunday at the gate of Israeli Ofer prison faculty, located west of the West Bank city Ramallah, to demand the release of 21 journalists imprisoned by Israel.
The protesting journalists held slogans calling for the immediate release of their colleagues and photos of them.
The protest was initiated by the Palestinian Journalists Syndicate. Omar Nazzal, member of the Syndicate Secretariat, said "we stand here before several crimes by the occupation that takes more than one form."
Nazzal said that the Israeli measures against media outlets "have intensified last week as six journalists were arrested as part of the Israel's mouth muzzling policy and efforts to stop Palestinians from reporting the truth about killings, settlements and Judaization."
He pledged to go on with the mission of journalism and the "arrests and injuries will not thwart them."
He urged the international community to shoulder its responsibilities in this regard and provide protection for the Palestinian journalists.
Mustafa Barghouti, secretary-general of the Palestinian National Initiative Party, said "Israel is carrying out the worst type of oppression through its arrest of Palestinian journalists in the West Bank and killing of them in Gaza Strip during their coverage of the weekly Return Rallies (Great March of Return) on the borders."
According to the Palestinian Information Ministry, Israel currently imprisons 21 Palestinian journalists, including Alaa Rimawi, 40 years old, who announced an open hunger strike in protest of his arrest last week.
The ministry accused Israel of violating international law in its treatment of Palestinian journalists, explaining that violations include "administrative arrest renewals, high sentences in military courts, expulsion, home imprisonment and imposing fines."
The ministry urged the UN to "implement the UN resolution 2222, related to the rights of journalists and guaranteeing that the Israeli violations do not go unpunished in order to halt the legislation of bills that limit the work of Palestinian journalists."
