Palestinian journalists call for ‘international protection’ against Israeli violations

Palestinian journalists, yesterday, said it was “necessary to receive international protection from Israeli violations.”

In a workshop organised by the Geneva-based Journalist Support Committee in the occupied Gaza strip, the journalists called on the international community “to hold the leaders of the Israeli occupation accountable for their systematic aggression against journalists.”

“The Israeli forces must be brought before the International Criminal Court for the crimes they perpetrate against Palestinian journalists,” they reiterated, on the occasion of The International Day to End Impunity for Crimes against Journalists.

During the workshop, the JSC’s coordinator in Palestine, Saleh Al-Masry, said that Israel had committed 3,678 acts of violence against journalists since the beginning of 2021.

“The latest Israeli aggression on Gaza, in May, has caused the death of the Palestinian journalist, Youssef Abu Hussein, as well as the destruction of 59 media institutions,” he pointed out, adding that the occupation was detaining 19 journalists.

Al-Masry noted that Israel had committed “94 arrests, detentions, hostilities and deportations against journalists in the occupied Palestinian territories.”

READ: 19 Palestinian journalists in Israel jails

On his part, Al-Jazeera bureau chief in Gaza, Wael Al-Dahdouh, explained that the Israeli violations were “hampering a journalist’s professional duty,” stressing that Palestinian journalists have proven their “defiance and endurance in performing their role, despite the circumstances and the loss of shelter.”

“I call on the international institutions to exert effort in pressuring the Israeli government to halt its attacks against journalists,” Al-Dahdouh added.

Al-Aqsa Radio director, Iman Zaqout, also pointed out that his network was facing a “fierce war by Israel, as Israeli warplanes have bombed our institutions 11 times since 2006.” He warned that the occupation was “deliberately obstructing” the work of journalists in covering its crimes.

In a similar context, the Palestinian photojournalist, Yaser Qudaih, called on the international institutions “to provide the necessary protection for journalists and stop the ongoing violations of the occupation against them.”

He pointed out that he was wounded by Israeli bullets while covering the Great March of Return in 2018, and that he is still suffering from complications from his injuries.

The program director of Al-Quds Today TV, Mohammed Abu Shawish, called on “all concerned and international institutions to provide international protection for journalists.”

JSC is a non-profit, non-governmental professional and human rights organization, which was established in 2016 by media professionals to defend the rights of media professionals and journalists.