On Monday, August 20th, the Palestinian Peace Coalition/GI held a media seminar at the Grand Park Hotel in the West Bank city of Ramallah on the role of media following Hamas’s takeover of the Gaza Strip. The seminar aimed at reviewing the impact of the latest developments in the Palestinian national project on the international peace conference due to be held later this year.

Dozens of political analysts, journalists, media specialists, spokespersons of governmental bodies, and representatives of civil society organizations from all over the West Bank attended the seminar.

Mr. Nidal Fuqaha, the PPC-GI Executive Director, shed light on the recent political landscape, emphasizing the need for a resumption of peace talks in order to reach an endgame solution, based on the two-state vision. He further spoke about the the role media has been playing recently, saying, "unfortunately, the main focus in the media now is the political struggle between Hamas and Fatah, while it should be on the attempts made to renew the political process.”

Mr. Hani Al-Massri, a political analyst, pointed out that the Palestinian media “has a very important role in society but unfortunately, it has become a victim of the current political situation in the Palestinian territories.”

“The national media should play a bigger role in raising the public’s awareness to the important issues that they are facing,” he added. “It also has an important duty: to protect the values of the Palestinian people and protect the Palestinian dream: to reach peace through establishing an independent state on the 1967 borders,” he said.

Among the speakers was Mr. Basem Abu Sumaya, Head of the Palestinian TV and Radio Authority. Mr. Abu Sumaya condemned Hamas’s military coup in the Gaza Strip, adding that it has created a big obstacle for achieving the Palestinian people’s goal to have an independent state.

He also condemned the threats and attacks made by Hamas against Palestinian journalists, especially those who work in the official Palestinian TV and radio channels.

The last speaker in the panel was Mr. Nasser Al-Laham, the General Director of Ma’an News Agency, who condemned the Palestinian media's role in covering the events in the Gaza Strip.

“Where were we when the national project was falling apart, when the hospitals were attacked, when the national TV and radio stations were attacked?”

The floor was then given to the audience, which made several interventions and raised questions before returning back to the keynote speakers who concluded and closed the seminar.

The seminar is part of a series of activities targeting the top policy-makers, members of the media (Local, Arab, and International), parliamentarians, their advisers and assistants, public opinion shapers and civil society figures, including from social, women's and environmental groups.

The seminar was fully covered by Palestinian local newspapers, broadcasted by Palestinian TV, Al-Jazeera live, local TVs and news wires.