PARIS, April 12: Several of the world’s leading associations of journalists, including the Jerusalem-based Foreign Press Association, have unanimously condemned Israel for its treatment of journalists reporting on the Israeli incursions into the Palestinian territories.

The associations include the Foreign Press Association (Jerusalem), the Committee to Protect Journalists (New York), the International Federation of Journalists (Brussels), International Press Institute (Vienna), Reporters Sans Frontiers (Paris), and the World Association of Newspapers (Paris).

According to a statement, the organizations in question “call on the government of Israel to allow the foreign media access to the cities of the West Bank. The prolonged attempt to seal off entire cities, where hundreds of thousands of people live, has been excessive, unjustifiable and utterly counter-productive.”

The associations said that they “call on Israeli officials to desist from public attacks on the foreign press in which irresponsible generalizations have been employed to criticize the way we conduct our business. They only undermine the freedom of the press and endanger journalists.”

The statement said: “At the same time we call on all the Palestinian factions to cease efforts to confiscate materials or intimidate journalists. Attempts to suppress unflattering visuals are utterly unacceptable. We call on the Palestinian authorities to reject such tactics unequivocally.”