September 26 marks the International Day of Solidarity with Palestinian Journalists, initially declared by the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) in 1996.  Al Mezan Center for Human Rights seizes this opportunity to applaud Palestinian journalists and media professionals, who continue to carry out their professional and moral duties in conveying the truth under escalated Israeli attacks and violations despite the manifold challenges they continue to face in their everyday work.

Al Mezan acknowledges the vital role of the media in society, not only as a source of information but also as a monitor of human rights abuses and violations. During their media coverage of events on the ground in the occupied Palestinian territory (OPT), Palestinian journalists are the direct targets of Israeli attacks, both during military in the Gaza Strip and during clashes in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem.

As evidenced by Al Mezan’s documentation, Israel routinely subjects Palestinian journalists to direct killing, maiming, beating, and arbitrary detention, in addition to sabotaging their press equipment, and denying their access to certain areas.

Israeli forces have repeatedly killed Palestinian journalists, including Reuters photographer Fadel Shana’a, who was killed in a direct shelling incident on 16 April 2008, the photographer Yasser Murtaja, who was shot on 7 April 2018 with a bullet to the abdomen, and the journalist Ahmed Abu Hussien, who was injured on 13 April 2018 and did on 25 April 2018, while covering the ‘Great March of Return’ demonstrations. All of them were wearing their press vests when killed. One of the most recent attacks against Palestinian journalists was the killing of veteran Al Jazeera journalist, Shireen Abu Akleh, and the injury of her colleague the journalist Ali al-Samoudi with a bullet wound in his back on 11 May 2022.

Israel’s military conduct in Gaza, characterized by concentrated attacks on civilian objects, has inflicted considerable material losses on journalists and their offices and vehicles. In some cases, Israel even shut down or hacked Palestinian news offices and TV channels.  Our documentation shows that five media facilities were damaged during the Israeli attacks carried out on Gaza in August 2022. Al Mezan also documented 425 violations against Palestinian journalists, media personnel, and press facilities in the Gaza Strip during the period between January 2000 and 26 September 2022, 320 of which were against press staff and 105 against press facilities. These violations led to the killing of 26 journalists during doing their job, the injury of more than 300, and the total and partial destruction of hundreds of media facilities.

Palestinian journalists’ right to freedom of opinion and expression, and to seek, receive and impart information must be protected. Israeli violations against Palestinian journalists are in blatant breach of international human rights law, notably Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. Moreover, journalists working in areas of armed conflict shall be considered civilians, as stated in Article 79 of Additional Protocol I to the 1949 Geneva Conventions and as enshrined under customary international humanitarian law.

Al Mezan reiterates its solidarity with Palestinian journalists and media professionals and values their indispensable role in promoting and protecting human rights in the OPT. Al Mezan expresses its strongest condemnation of the systematic and grave violations committed by Israeli forces against Palestinian journalists and media professionals, which amount to war crimes. Yet, Israel continues to enjoy impunity, with the international community remaining silent. The apparent double standard applied to Palestine by the international community is a shameful bias, and at its roots, is evidenced by the fact that in 74 years of occupation the international community has taken no meaningful action to ensure compliance with international law or hold perpetrators accountable. This fact stands in stark contrast to intervention in other conflicts and situations of grave injustice.

Al Mezan calls on the international community—in particular, the High Contracting Parties to the 1949 Fourth Geneva Convention—to take effective steps toward ending Israel’s violations of international law, providing protection for Palestinian civilians, including journalists, and holding accountable all perpetrators of serious violations.