Blogging about Israel and the Arab world since, oh, forever.
A few days ago, Kan News in Israel reported from the Icon Mall, a luxury mall in Ramallah that opened earlier this year, noting that while it is only 15 minutes from Jerusalem, Israeli Jews are not allowed to shop there - and it has brand names not available in Israel like Sephora.
This stry caused an uproar from Palestinian journalists for the mall allowing the hated Israelis inside. The crime, of course, is "normalization."
The mall put out a lengthy statement explaining how they did not give permission for the segment
In the end, if the clear goals of these journalistic entities—which work to whitewash the face of the loathsome occupation—aim to split the Palestinian ranks, turn society against itself, and stir up public opinion against one of the largest Palestinian projects in recent years (which was visited by 4 million Palestinians in its first year), then we call on all the children of our people to thwart this opportunity, deal with the event as it is, and protect the acquired rights of dozens of investors, thousands of employees, and suppliers.
I haven't heard anything about "freedom of the press" from the usual suspects who get upset when Israel limits journalists in a war zone but Palestinians can explicitly bar Israeli journalists from reporting from Ramallah.
