Foreign press coverage of the Parliament of Israel will be resumed as a result of the abolition of a number of restrictions, including the presence of a bullet-proof glass wall between the House and the press gallery, to which correspondents had objected. For the past three weeks, foreign correspondents have refused to attend and file stories reporting Knesset developments. This boycott ended today.
In agreeing to remove the glass partition, the Knesset presidium specified that only regular members of the Foreign Press Association would be allowed into the press gallery. Newspapermen who cover Knesset news on a part-time or irregular basis and are not members of the FPA will be seated in the front row of the public gallery, which is farther removed from the deputies.
The presidium also removed restrictions on the use of the Knesset restaurant by newspapermen. Reporters and correspondents insisted on access to the restaurant and lobbies of the building on the grounds that they made working contact with important political figures in these informal meetings.
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