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times.ps
Palestine Times is now getting broad distribution in Israel, but not so much online -- its content is hidden behind a paid subscriber wall. |
A new English-language daily newspaper from the Palestinian territories will soon hit news stands in Israel. The
Jerusalem Post reports that the owners of
Palestine Times have reached a deal with a major Israeli newspaper distributor.
(NOTE: The newspaper's site is times.ps -- ".ps" is the top-level domain of the Palestinian Territories. A similarly named paper based in London online at ptimes.org is not affiliated with the Palestine Times.)
The Jerusalem Post quotes Palestine Times founder and editor-in-chief Othman Haj Mohammed as saying the paper's goal is to show the "real image of Palestinians. My message is simple. I want to show our readers an image of Palestinians as a real, human society with all its needs. With its stories of failure and success, its sad moments and its happy moments."
Some of the feature headlines suggest that this paper will provide fascinating glimpses into Palestinian life and culture. Others, although nominally cultural pieces, reflect the political situation: "Old British and Israeli jail now used as cultural centre," "Jayous continuing to sow the seeds of peace, despite decades of land loss," and "Settlements occupy nature reserves too."
Unfortunately, the world outside Israel may not get a good look at the "real image of Palestinians," as Othman put it. Apparently, online readers won't be able to navigate past the site's home page without buying a subscription.
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Interestingly, the Jerusalem Post also noted that the Palestine Times does not publish editorials, although it does offer opinion pieces. Othman is quoted as saying it is "too early to take a line," but described his paper as a "very moderate liberal newspaper. We are about being an independent Palestinian newspaper now. We are not obliged to anyone. Our bias, if we have one in any way, is to represent the Palestinian people completely."
Othman may be hoping for the Palestinian political situation to settle down; the new Hamas-Fatah unity government has just been sworn in. Further, the Palestinian Authority (PA) doesn't have a great record of supporting independent media coverage. A 2005 report from the International Press Institute describes how both the Palestinian and Israeli governments have curbed press freedom in the Palestinian Territories.
Regardless of that history, the PA has been liberally granting radio broadcasting licenses recently. One has gone to a South African media group which launched station RAM-FM (site only partially operational). This English-language radio station broadcasts throughout the Palestinian Territories and Israel, with studios in Jerusalem and Ramallah.
