In the wake of the Egyptian-Israeli peace treaty the Press Syndicate decreed no member could visit an Israeli-occupied city, meaning that for more than three decades Jerusalem has been off bounds for Egyptian journalists. But last week a group of 15 journalists, three of them Syndicate Council members, did visit the occupied territory. The visit was in response to an invitation sent by the Palestinian Press Syndicate to commemorate the anniversary of the Palestinian Declaration of Independence. The Egyptian delegation entered Ramallah via Jordan in order to avoid any dealings with the occupation authorities. It was later reported, however, that some members of the group subsequently visited Jerusalem. The Press Syndicate Chairman Diaa Rashwan has announced that he will open an investigation and take action against any member who violated the syndicate decree by visiting a city occupied and run by the Israeli government. “Since the 1980s a Press Syndicate General Assembly decree banning any professional or personal normalisation with Israel has been in place,” says Karem Mahmoud, secretary-general of the Egyptian Press Syndicate. “An investigation will take place and if our colleagues have an Israeli visa in their passports they will be penalised.” The Press Syndicate stressed that if confirmed the visit will be considered a violation of the General Assembly resolution. Mahmoud said the delegation had informed the syndicate in advance of the impending visit but failed to mention it might include Jerusalem. The Palestinian Declaration of Independence was proclaimed in Algeria on 15 November 1988. Written by Palestinian poet Mahmoud Darwish and read out by Palestinian National Council head Yasser Arafat, the declaration marked Palestinian acceptance of the two-state solution proposed in 1947 by the UN General Assembly. November also marks the anniversary of the death of Arafat. The cause of his death on 11 November 2004 has once again been dominating international headlines after a Swiss forensic team, commissioned by Arafat's widow, discovered the body contained inexplicably high levels of Polonium. The journalists involved issued a statement on Monday claiming they had only visited Palestinian territory and did not deal with any representative of Israeli authority during the course of the visit. “These false accusations are being manufactured by some board members of the syndicate who are used to fighting the Israeli occupation through the media while we chose to go there as a show support of and solidarity to the Palestinian people,” the statement said. It added that the delegation celebrated the “independence of Palestine” and witnessed an operation by Palestinian resistance groups near the separation wall. The Press Syndicate decision to refer the delegation members to investigation has been condemned by the government and some media. On Sunday Egypt's Ambassador to the Palestinian Authority Yasser Othman described the delegation's visit as a “heroic” action in support of the Palestinian people. “To consider East Jerusalem a part of Israel is to support Israeli claims that Jerusalem is its capital,” he said. During a press conference held with the delegation at the headquarters of the Egyptian Representative Office in Ramallah, the ambassador said: “You are here to support the Palestinian people against the Israeli occupation.” He stressed that the delegation had dealt only with Egypt's embassy and Palestinian officials. “The reactions were positive and encouraging,” he said, adding that Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas viewed the visit as giving impetus to relations between the two peoples. The Palestinian Authority issued its own statement saying the delegation visited a Palestinian city with the help of Palestine Liberation Organisation officials. “East Jerusalem is Arab land. The delegation was not involved in any normalisation with the Israeli government. It entered and left under the supervision of the Palestinian Authority,” said the statement.
