RAMALLAH, Sunday, June 9, 2024 (WAFA) - An international media forum entitled “Media and the Palestinian right: Practical steps to build initiatives to recognize Palestine” was held virtually via Zoom today.

The forum recommended the establishment of a media platform to monitor and document international and popular mobility regarding the obligation to ensure respect for the binding international resolutions relevant to the Palestinian issue and the publication of documented international reports about it.

It also recommended intensifying news dissemination on initiatives and declarations of various countries worldwide on the recognition of Palestine as well as launching a blog covering a glossary of common media terms related to the Palestinian issue and identifying commonly misleading terms used in media narratives in respect of the Palestinian issue.

The blog will provide equivalent precise terms, based on international references. The blogging team responsible for the glossary will address those who violate the rights of the Palestinian people.

The forum announced the "Media for Peace" initiative, which brings together professionals and activists from around the world to build a comprehensive media strategy that includes events and activities that promote the path of peace and a just and comprehensive solution to the conflict.

It called for convening an international media forum in one of the world's capitals to discuss practical steps to support the Palestinian cause in the media and coordinate joint action in this regard.

The virtual media forum decided to launch a special branch regarding the prize announced last November by the Union of OIC News Agencies to honor the best journalistic work in support of the Palestinian cause. The branch will contribute to expanding public awareness about the Palestinian issue and backing up international efforts to solve it.

The forum called for enhancing cooperation and coordination between the media outlets of international organizations concerned with the Palestinian issue such as the United Nations, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) and the Muslim World League. It called for organizing programs and activities designed for this purpose.

The forum also called for intensifying news exchanges with Palestinian media and relying on them in reporting the news to support the presence of the Palestinian narrative in the international media, and the need to balance biased narratives that try to silence the Palestinian voice.

The forum recommended the intensification of media monitoring of offensive statements made against the Palestinian people and their humanity by officials and far-right parties in Israel, as the manifestation of violating human rights instruments and undermining the efforts exerted toward finding a just and comprehensive solution to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.

He called for the preparation of training programs and workshops to qualify international journalists and educate them on the history of the Palestinian issue and the provisions of associated international law resolutions.

The forum called to intensify information dissemination about international efforts to end the aggression on Gaza, push toward the establishment of a Palestinian state, and inform world public opinion of the reality of the situation in Palestine, in particular the intensive actions commissioned by the Joint Arab and Islamic Summit co-chaired by Saudi Arabia.

In his speech at the opening session of the forum, Minister Ahmed Assaf, General Supervisor of Official Palestinian Media, said that the Palestinian narrative has triumphed over the distorted narrative of the Israeli occupation, stressing that the worldwide demonstrations, the successive international recognition of the State of Palestine and the General Assembly of the United Nations vote on resolutions in favor of Palestine are clear evidence of the world's adoption of the Palestinian narrative.

Minister Assaf added that this victory came at a high price, as about 150 Palestinian journalists were killed on the job while exposing the violations and crimes of the Israeli occupation.

He emphasized that the Palestinian people who sacrificed their lives; an estimated 37,000 people, the political movement led by President Mahmoud Abbas, the Arab, Islamic and international support and the strenuous efforts of the Palestinian media have helped the Palestinian message and narrative to reach the outside world.

T.R.