Since its advent in the last quarter of 1994, the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) commenced to establish various institutions and commissions covering various aspects and fields including public and private media.
As with economy, trade, industry, infrastructure and social activities the PNA inherited incompetent, frail, media institutions totally subjected and subordinated to martial laws or what is also known as military orders.
Over a span extending to almost three decades, forming the life of Israeli military occupation to the Palestinian territories, the Palestinian media was suffering heavily from Israeli atrocities exclusively dedicated to deny the Palestinian people any access to freedom of expression and blocking the establishment of various media institutions to embody the right of speech and expression.
Hence, it was not a mere coincidence that no single Palestinian journalist or media press, escaped apprehension, torture, or even deportation and expulsion, or the closure of the few media corporations either on temporary or permanent basis.
The so-called Israeli military controller, who accumulated the power of all laws and legislations inherited from the Ottoman rule, British mandate, Jordanian rule, and Israeli military occupation, had the final saying to what can be published and what not, and to what may be written and what not.
Nevertheless, we can boast that the private media, materially and morally supported by the PLO in exile, has succeeded to establish some media institutions in the absence of any form of public media. It succeeded to some extent to in carrying out a pioneer and unique nationalist role, laying the foundation basis for counter-media, and encompassing media men, and intellectuals in professional syndicates i.e. the Palestinian Press Association and the Palestinian Authors Union, both centered in Arab Jerusalem.
The PLO with its various political factions was active to reactivate the role of the local media inside the occupied territories.
Besides, the various media apparatus, newspapers and magazines issued by Palestinian factions as means of expression to its attitudes, thoughts and leanings, and scores of press releases, books, documentary and recorded films, there were also the PLO's Unified Information and the Information Departments. These produced the PLO's central magazine "Palestine the Revolution", the Palestinian News Agency (WAFA), Palestine Broadcasting Corporation, the Palestinian Research Center, the Planning Center and a variety of local media institutions in the Diaspora.
The experience of the Palestinian media in the Diaspora was characterized with diversification and pluralism.
Its location at different places helped to benefit it from various democratic media trends and experiments in this field, a fact that led to its prosperity, fertility, diversification and liberality.
Consequently the democratic experience in the Palestinian media was enhanced to yield an unprecedented specialty.
As the development process embarked by the PNA was a continuity of the previous Palestinian media with its democratic principles, experiment, inside and outside the homeland, the media experience which was adopted by the PNA in the Palestinian territories is not irrelevant to the past or with no roots,.
The first formation of a PNA Cabinet included the establishment of the Ministry of Information along with other ministries, which will contribute in laying out of the foundation stone for the first Palestinian national entity.
Following its establishment, the Ministry of Information it embarked on drafting relevant regulations and systems to regulate the work of commissions and institutions directly involved in public and private media, published the press law in 1995. The press law is deemed, despite its shortcomings, a democratic one which can be used as a starting point, based on the following;
First: The law ensures and guarantees the freedom of press, innovation and expression without prior censorship under specific legislation . The ratification and enforcement of which, embodies a Palestinian sovereignty.
Second: The law has the power of revoking all enforced and prevailing laws in the West Bank including the military orders enacted by the Israeli occupation authority.
Third: The law ensures and preserves the rights of the journalist and all media bodies as to the acquisition and circulation of information, preserving the secrecy of its sources which form a pivotal pillar of the Palestinian media.
Fourth: The law entitles all citizens and institutions, regardless of their intellectual, political or religious beliefs, the right to possess and issue press prints and for the licensing, registration, printing and fees paying to become within the reach of all interested people.
Fifth: It further regulates the relationship between the Executive Authority and the Press Institutions to what may ensure solving all complications and inter-location of jurisdictions, and to ensuing the rights of all those working in press, printing and publication works, in addition to acting as an umbrella to protect all walks of life in the society and the supreme national interests from any discrepancies or infringements that might befall.
Sixth: The press law entitles each person the right to restore his full rights if violated and restricts the powers of the executive authority, prohibiting it from taking any action against the press, journalists and writers except through competent courts which attain the power of final saying and judgment.
Within the framework of this law, it can be said that a remarkable progress has been achieved in the local media in the Palestinian territories.
According to the records kept by legal Palestinian information corporations there exists 36 monthly, weekly and daily newspapers, 114 magazines, 181 libraries, 80 press office, 42 research center, 14 information bureau, 114 advertisement and information offices, 5 cinema theaters (noting that the movie theaters were closed during the period of the Israeli military occupation and were reopened following the advent of the PNA), 11 translation offices, 57 printing and distributing houses, 10 TV programs Production Corporations, 27 TV stations, 8 radio stations and 3 media training centers, in addition to the press and information departments at the various Palestinian universities of: Beir Zeit, Al-Quds, Al-Quds Open University, Al-Najah in Nablus, Hebron, Bethlehem, Azhar and Gaza University.
It is to be said without exaggeration that private media in the Palestinian territories is one of the most vital sectors suitable for investment by the private sector for its unlimited promising potentialities.
In the field of public media, the PNA established the Palestinian Radio & TV Corporation as an independent authority and inaugurated the Voice of Palestine, and the Palestinian TV corporation with humble resources and very limited technical fittings. Three years later the Palestinian Orbit TV Station started its service to cover all Palestinian territories and the neighboring countries at an average of 19 transmission hours Day after day the Palestinian Broadcasting Corporation becomes self-sufficient in production of its diversified programs either pertinent to cultural, agricultural fields or documentary films and TV drama.
This applies as well to the Palestinian News Agency (WAFA) which has two main offices based in Gaza and Ramallah. WAFA's correspondents are distributed throughout the major Palestinian cities and towns including Arab cities occupied in 1948, and Jerusalem. The Agency has sub offices and correspondents at Arab and world capitals and is becoming the only authenticated and official source for the Palestinian news to various media systems.
Within this context, the Palestinian media, at its public and private sections, was able to score in a relatively short period of time, remarkable achievements in audio-visual and press fields.
On the level of cultural work, the PNA created the Ministry of Culture to support and promote creative and cultural Palestinian work. For this purpose the Ministry of Culture keeps within its cadre prominent Palestinian intellectuals with long experience.
The Ministry commenced, after almost five decades of inaction due to lack of peace, to create its own institutions and provide material and moral support for distinguished masterpieces. The Ministry contributed positively in the creation of 216 cultural centers dealing with movie production, culture, arts, plays, folklore, children plays and other specialized centers distributed throughout the homeland.
It also awards many prizes for various cultural innovations such as "The Palestinian Prize in literature, arts, and science" awarded through a committee made up of prominent figures in various spheres of culture under the chairmanship of the famous Palestinian Arab Poet Mahmoud Darweesh.
The prizes awarded by this committee are not inclined to Palestinians but to Arabs as well, since its prize known as "The Jerusalem Prize" was first conferred on the Lebanese Singer, Fayroaz, and the second to Lebanese novelist Elias Khouri for his novel "Bab Al-Shams" (Gate of the Sun).
The Palestine Prize for Poetry was awarded to Poet Ahmad Dahbor for his set of poems titled "Here and there". Suleiman Mansour was awarded The Palestine Prize for Art. The theater Prize was given to Al-Qassaba theater in Jerusalem,, the Cinema Prize to film producer Rasheed Masharawi, the Short Story to journalist Hassan el-Battal, the Music Prize for Saleem Ashqar and the Jerusalem Prize for Dr. Walid Khaldi.
The Ministry of Culture has also appropriated prizes for women and children masterpieces, artistic works, theater etc., all dedicated to stimulate the Palestinian innovation work and creating suitable ground for its evolution
Other national corporations directly involved in cultural activities have been established, such as; the Palestinian Theater Movement. This cultural establishment has scored tremendous achievements through the creation of professional theatrical bands and holding rehabilitation courses in scenarios, theater production, decoration and lighting despite impediments, scarcity of resources, and absence of theater houses in the Palestinian cities with the exception of Jerusalem, which has Al-Qasaba and Al-Hakawati theaters, whereas other works are performed at stadium and halls at Palestinian universities, institutions, schools and some cinema theaters and cultural clubs.
The wheel of private cinema and TV production has also began to move after several TV and film production corporations were created producing a variety of films which entered Arab and international film contests and got some prizes.
The Palestinian artistic arena has witnessed a large-scale artistic boom in regard to the organizations of different art festivals throughout Palestine including the: Palestinian International Festival, Ramallah Summer Nights Festival, Bethlehem International Festival, Gaza Festival, Arttas Festival, Nabi Saleh Festival, Al-Quds Festival, Sabastiah Festival, Marj Ibn Ammer Festival, The Palestine Heritage Day, The Puppet Theater, The Jericho Winter Festival, Nowar Nissan Children Festival, Tulkarm Festival and Al-Bireh Festival.
Needles to mention the multitude periodic cultural prints published in Palestine including Al-Karmel cultural quarterly whose editor in chief is renown Palestinian Poet, Mahmoud Darwish which resumed its publication in Ramallah. Its first edition was printed in Beirut, Lebanon in 1980 and then published in Cyprus in 1982 before returning to the homeland.
A specialized Cultural Magazine entitled "Al-Sho'ara" (Poets), is also published by the Palestinian Poetry House.
Notwithstanding the stride achievements accomplished in the field of culture and media in Palestine, there still exists extremely complicated snags blocking their development towards creating cultural and media environmental conditions capable of carrying out their duties properly. This can be mainly attributed to the ongoing Israeli occupation to over 70% of the Palestinian West Bank and Gaza Strip and consequently the enforcement of martial laws by the conqueror (Israel) over the occupied territories where over half of the Palestinian population lives. The Israeli arbitrary actions included for example restrictions imposed over Radio and TV transmission, jams over public and private Palestinian radio and TV stations, barring Palestinian journalists from entering Jerusalem and some areas under the military control of the Israeli army, and withholding information, in addition to chasing and hunting Arab pressmen, torturing them, and even breaking their camera equipment.
The most important of all the above impediments comes the Israeli military occupation to the Palestinian land as a big hurdle in the way of a smooth progress and development of media.
The shortage of financial resources endured by public and private local institutions plays a key role in impeding the cherished goals of development and cripples the institutionalization of media and cultural works. Up to this moment there are no modern institutions dealing with upgrading media and culture. Work at private and public institutions is still being performed with meager and primitive cadres compared to the global revolution in the technology of mass media.
So far the Palestinian territories lack for example; an international media center for communications and orbit transmission. Palestinian journalists and corespondents depend on Israeli corporations based in Jerusalem to relay their reports.
The Palestinian media badly needs vocational training centers or modern media management. This extends to apply as well to culture which lacks any up to date corporation or institution or college for fine arts or theater or cinema. Major Palestinian cities totaling (11) have only 5 cinema theaters with out- fashioned projectors and equipments due to almost three decades of Israeli military occupation.