Mundo Árabe : Palestina

PalestinaInstituciones

Instituciones dedicadas al libro

  • Editor del Estado
    Ministry of Culture – Arab Writers Union

    Fundación estatal Función: Apoyar las políticas para el libro y la lectura

    The Ministry of Tourism also has publications.

  • Ministerio encargado del libro y la lectura
    The Palestinian Ministry of Culture.

    Fundación estatal Función: Llevar a cabo una política cultural

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Asociaciones profesionales

  • Asociaciones de librerías
    Association of Public Libraries

    Institución pública Función: Reunir a los profesionales de la librería

  • Otros
    Palestinian Journalists' Union

    Institución pública Función: Reunir a los autores de contenido escrito

  • Asociaciones de escritoras y escritores
    Palestinian Writers' Union

    Federación Función: Reunir a los profesionales de la escritura

  • Asociaciones de editoras y editores
    Palestinian Publishers Association

    Institución pública Función: Reunir a los profesionales de la edición

    A member of the Arab Publishers Union.

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Observatorio

  • Observatorio e investigación

    Encuesta Función: Registrar

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

    http://www.pcbs.gov.ps

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PalestinaPolíticas públicas

Regulación del mercado

  • Regulación de la libre competencia

    Ley Función: Regular

    The Competition Law applies to all goods, including books.

  • Opiniones de las/los profesionales

    • 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.

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Fomento de la lectura y apoyo a la difusión del libro

  • Fomento de la lectura

    Programa público Función: Llevar a cabo una política cultural

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

  • Opiniones de las/los profesionales

    • 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).

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Fomento y subvenciones a la creación y a la publicación

  • Apoyo a la presencia de editores y editoras en ferias internacionales

    Exoneración Función: Llevar a cabo una política cultural

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

  • Opiniones de las/los profesionales

    • 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.

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Compras públicas

  • Compras públicas

    Programa público Función: Apoyar las políticas para el libro y la lectura

    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.

  • Opiniones de las/los profesionales

    • 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.

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Políticas culturales

  • Alfabetización

    Programa público Función: Llevar a cabo una política cultural

    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.

  • Opiniones de las/los profesionales

    • 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.

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Libertad de expresión

  • Control o regulación de contenidos

    Ley Funciones: Controlar y regular

    Article 7 and Article 37 of the Press Law 1995.

    Observaciones

    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.

  • Opiniones de las/los profesionales

    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.

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Impuestos

  • Tipo íntegro del IVA

    Código general de impuestos

    16% – Books and magazines in general.

  • Dispositivos fiscales particular del libro

    Código general de impuestos

    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.

    Observaciones

    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.’

  • Impuestos de la importación de material informático

    Código general de impuestos

    16%

  • Impuestos en papel

    Código general de impuestos

    16%

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Normas internacionales e identificación de libros

  • Obligaciones relativas a los datos de identificación de los libros (ISBN, ISSN, ISN, RPI, etc.)

    Reglamento Función: Registrar

    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.

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Derecho de autor

  • Opiniones de las/los profesionales

    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.

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Piratería de libros físicos y sitios de descarga gratuita de libros

  • Opiniones de las/los profesionales

    • 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.

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