Ramallah (QNN) – The Palestinian Journalists Syndicate (PJS) said today it has rejected an invitation by US special envoy Jason Greenblatt to Palestinian journalists to visit the White House and meet US officials.

The Palestinian official agency Wafa quoted the syndicate as saying that the invitation is another “failed and desperate” attempt by the US administration to bypass the Palestinian leadership.

“The US Administration said it will talk to the Palestinian people through the media and from behind the leadership,” said the PJS. “Therefore it declares its rejection and denounces this dubious invitation and calls on all journalists to reject the invitation and stick to the positon of the syndicate and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO).”

The PJS said that while freedom of the press in Palestine is sacred, it nevertheless considers “going along with such dubious invitations is acting against the freedom and independence of our people and an attempt to split the Palestinian people.”

It said “it is not acceptable and it does not make sense to have a dialogue with an administration that is inaugurating tunnels and settlements in our land, target our Christian and Islamic holy places and our right to freedom and independence.”

The syndicate said the invitation reflects the crisis the US administration is living after the failure of the Bahrain economic workshop, Prosperity to Peace, held last month in Manama and sponsored by the US.