Arab World : Palestine

PalestineInstitutions

Public administrations focusing on books

  • State publisher
    Ministry of Culture – Arab Writers Union

    State foundation Function: To support book and reading policies

    The Ministry of Tourism also has publications.

  • Ministry of Culture
    The Palestinian Ministry of Culture.

    State foundation Function: To carry out a cultural policy

Contribute

Professional associations

  • Booksellers' associations
    Association of Public Libraries

    Public institution Function: To bring together bookstore professionals

  • Other
    Palestinian Journalists' Union

    Public institution Function: Bringing together authors of the written word

  • Authors' associations
    Palestinian Writers' Union

    Federation Function: To bring together writing professionals

  • Publishers' associations
    Palestinian Publishers Association

    Public institution Function: To bring together publishing professionals

    A member of the Arab Publishers Union.

Contribute

Observatory

  • Observatory and survey

    Survey Function: To inventory

    The Central Bureau of Statistics has some statistics, but they are generally related to the cultural sector.

    http://www.pcbs.gov.ps

Contribute

PalestinePublic policies

Market regulation

  • Regulation of free competition

    Law Function: To regulate

    The Competition Law applies to all goods, including books.

  • Opinions of professionals

    • The publishing scene in Palestine is not characterized by a high degree of centralization.
      The percentage of imported books within the total available books in libraries is very small.
      The percentage of national publishing (with local capital) that receives public tenders for libraries is less than 1%, due to the limited local publishing (100 titles per year for all publishers – less than 100 copies).
      The publication and distribution of school textbooks is monopolized by the state.

Contribute

Support for public reading and book distribution

  • Reading support

    Public program Function: To carry out a cultural policy

    There are private institutions and civil associations dedicated to supporting reading, writing, and literacy, such as: Tamer Institute and Abdul Mohsen Qattan Foundation.

  • Opinions of professionals

    • Shoman Foundation purchases from libraries during book fairs. However, they have conditions on titles, discounts, and the budget is not large.
      There are no funds to support the travel of writers and/or publishers (to attend book fairs or other business missions abroad).

Contribute

Support for creation and publishing

  • Support for the presence of publishing houses at international fairs

    Exemption Function: To carry out a cultural policy

    Exemption from participation fees for the Ramallah Book Fair applies to everyone, not just Palestinian publishers.

  • Opinions of professionals

    • The three main measures to support the publishing sector in Palestine:

      1. Abolish VAT.
      2. Purchase a certain percentage of local books.
      3. Support publishers for participation in international book fairs. Also, support for authors and translators.

      Authors are supported through funds for authors: The author sends a letter to the Palestinian Culture Fund, submits the manuscript of the book, and then receives a response, but the percentage is very low and depends on decision-makers. A contract is made with the publisher for a distinguished book, but if a publisher receives this grant, they are not eligible to receive it again.
      There are no funds to support translation.

Contribute

Public procurement

  • Public procurement

    Public program Function: To support book and reading policies

    The ministry may purchase certain titles on specific occasions, and this occurred during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Ministry of Education buys some textbooks from Arab publishers rather than Palestinian publishers. Some local universities may acquire publications from certain Palestinian publishers.

  • Opinions of professionals

    • There are no significant public purchases of books in local languages.
      The total public purchases for public libraries, in terms of financial value, is not specified (no digital books are purchased).
      The total public purchases for university libraries are very minimal – they can be purchased from Arab book fairs, but the largest budget is allocated to publishers outside Palestine.
      Public procurement of books for public and university libraries is not done through a clear and transparent tender process: Only the Ministry of Education and Higher Education makes purchases through tenders with specific book titles, and this has been a point of contention between the Publishers’ Association and the ministry due to the lack of transparency and fairness in choosing the titles. Purchases are made through libraries.

Contribute

Cultural policies

  • Literacy

    Public program Function: To carry out a cultural policy

    There are private institutions and civil associations that focus on teaching reading, writing, and promoting literacy.

    There are no statistics to measure literacy efforts, but the illiteracy rate is very low.

  • Opinions of professionals

    • The main challenges related to public policies for books: There is no supportive policy for books of any kind, whether for publishers or for translation. The Publishers’ Association is weak and unable to exert pressure to improve the situation. There is no law concerning books and/or reading.

    There has been no development regarding public policies for books and reading in the past ten years, and there is a decline in sales due to the current situation, making things harder in the absence of support.

Contribute

Freedom of expression

  • Control or regulation of content

    Law Functions: To control and to regulate

    Article 7 and Article 37 of the Press Law 1995.

    Comments

    Article (7)

    • The publications must refrain from publishing anything that contradicts the principles of freedom, national responsibility, human rights, and respect for the truth, and must consider freedom of thought, opinion, expression, and access to information as a right for citizens, as it is a right for themselves.
    • Publications directed at children and adolescents should not include any images, stories, or news that undermine Palestinian morals, values, and traditions.

    Article (37)

    • It is prohibited for the publication to publish the following:
      1. Any confidential information about the police, public security forces, their weapons, equipment, locations, movements, or training.
      2. Articles and materials that involve the defamation of religions and sects legally protected by law.
      3. Articles that would harm national unity, incite the commission of crimes, sow hatred, division, discord, and sectarianism among members of society.
      4. Proceedings of the secret sessions of the National Council and the Council of Ministers of the Authority.
      5. Articles or news intended to undermine confidence in the national currency.
      6. Articles or news that would harm the dignity, personal freedoms, or reputation of individuals.
      7. News, reports, messages, articles, and images that are contrary to public morals and ethics.
      8. Advertisements promoting medicines, medical products, cigarettes, or similar items unless authorized for publication in advance by the Ministry of Health.
    • The importation of publications from abroad is prohibited if they contain material prohibited under the provisions of this law.

  • Opinions of professionals

    Publishing a book does not require prior or subsequent licensing.

    The Ministry of Information used to handle this task, but it has now been canceled.

Contribute

Taxes

  • Full rate of VAT

    General tax code

    16% – Books and magazines in general.

  • Exemption or specific tax system for books

    General tax code

    Value-added tax and income tax apply to books.

    There is a 16% tax on imported books.

    Except for non-profit organizations, which are exempt from issuing invoices – they are exempt from the 16% value-added tax.

    Comments

    Taxes are paid to the occupation at the border crossings, not to the Palestinian Authority, and later the calculations are made between the occupation and the Authority. As is known, the occupation prevents the entry of books from Lebanon and Syria unless there is prior approval. An Israeli citizen must submit an import request with lists of books and the names of the authors, after which the books may be allowed entry, although some may be rejected. Sometimes, the invoice amount is inflated based on the mood of the crossing officer, thus increasing the tax. Shipping fees for a box from Syria or Lebanon can reach up to 100 USD. There is also a tax on colored books for adults and children, which is an additional 13%, known as the ‘Hebrew letter tax.’

  • Import duties on IT equipment

    General tax code

    16%

  • Taxation on paper

    General tax code

    16%

Contribute

International standards and book identification

  • Obligations relating to book identification data (ISBN, ISSN, ISN, RPI, etc.)

    Regulation Function: To record

    An ISBN number is obtained from the National Center for International Standard Book Numbering – Al-Quds University, at a cost of approximately 5.5 USD.

    There is no need for a legal deposit of the published book at any institution.

Contribute

Copyright law

  • Opinions of professionals

    The law currently applied to protect the rights of authors is still from the Ottoman era!

    There is currently a discussion regarding a new Publications Law and a Copyright Law.

Contribute

Piracy of physical books and free book download sites

  • Opinions of professionals

    • Book piracy, especially in print, affects the book market as we think twice before purchasing the rights. In the case of piracy, there is difficulty in filing civil lawsuits due to delays and high costs, and during this time, the pirated version might have been printed in several editions!

      Example: The book Qul Ya Tayr (Say, O Bird), which we printed in its Palestinian edition and was published by the Institute for Palestinian Studies in Beirut, was pirated. I tried to control the quantity through the police and have a letter from the Beirut institution, but I couldn’t seize the quantity because the law didn’t help me. After two years, the case was transferred to court without my knowledge, and the court sessions have been postponed multiple times for two years.

      Electronic piracy of books also affects the book market.

      Solutions to overcome these two phenomena: There is a need for a law to be seriously enforced and an authoritative body that works on that.

Contribute