Palestinian media and journalists decided on Tuesday to boycott the meeting that joined the Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas with the U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi in Ramallah.Palestinian media and journalists decided on Tuesday to boycott the meeting that joined the Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas with the U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi in Ramallah.
This boycott is part of the Protests organized by the Palestinian journalist who demand the immediate release of the BBC reporter Allan Johnston, who was kidnapped by unknown gunmen.
The journalists threatened to escalate their protest by boycotting all activities of the President and the government for three days in bid to add pressure at the Palestinian leadership to invest more effort in finding Johnston, who has been in captivity since March 12.
Na’im Tubasi, head of the Palestinian Journalists Trade Union said that the goal of this boycott campaign is to speed up the release of Johnston especially that since being kidnapped, no information about his well-being has been released by his captors.
Tubasi demanded the kidnappers to allow some journalists to meet Johnston to confirm that he is in a good health, raising suspension concerning his health situation.
He also criticized the Palestinian Authority for what he called, “deficiency” in this in finding Johnston, maintaining that some European countries have hinted to regard Gaza as insecure zone for its citizens.
Tubasi asserted Johnston is the eighteenth foreign national to be kidnapped in 2007 so far, calling the kidnappers to take him instead of Johnston.
Pelosi, the first US House-female speaker, is visiting the Palestinian Authority as part of a trip in the Middle East through which she held meetings with several Arab Leaders. Pelosi also met with Syrian President Bashar Assad in Damascus, against the will of the White House.
