Israel’s Supreme Court on Tuesday rejected international media’s request for access to the Gaza Strip, citing a “security emergency” in the Palestinian territory, where conflict between Israel and Hamas is taking place.
For the Foreign Press Association (FPA), which represents journalists working for foreign media covering Israel, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, the Israeli justice pointed out the risk that such access “could pose to forces on the ground and the safety of soldiers,” revealing, for example, their location.
While acknowledging that the decision “does not allow for the full exercise of (…) freedom of the press,” the Supreme Court counters that it is “balanced and reasonable” given the “current security emergency” in the Gaza Strip and the “realities risks” that such permits may create.
The Supreme Court also emphasized that journalists can enter the Gaza Strip for a limited period of time and provided that they are accompanied by the Israeli military. However, according to the AEI, this access is “limited to selected foreign media” and is “strictly controlled.”
The conflict is reported only by journalists from the Gaza Strip who were in the territory at the beginning of the confrontation.
Locked out of territory and dividing the Palestinian population, they are paying a heavy price for the war. At least 79 journalists and media professionals, the vast majority of them Palestinians, have been killed since the war began, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists.
A prosecutor at the Hague-based International Criminal Court (ICC) said on Tuesday that crimes against journalists were included in his investigation into war crimes that were likely committed in the Gaza Strip.
“Journalists are protected by international humanitarian law and the Rome Statute. [texto fundador do TPI] and under no circumstances should they be considered a target in the performance of their important mission,” the ICC prosecutors emphasized.
Author: Lusa
Source: CM Jornal
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