Center for Protection of Palestinian Journalists condemns “Israeli” Supreme Court’s decision to extend ban on foreign media entry to Gaza
The Center for the Protection of Palestinian Journalists strongly condemned on Thursday the decision of the so-called “Israeli Supreme Court” granting the Israeli government an additional 30 days to respond to the petition of the Foreign Journalists Association in “Israel”, which demanded that media outlets be allowed free and direct access to the Gaza Strip to cover the catastrophic humanitarian conditions there.
In a statement on its website, the Center considered the decision a clear expression of the bias of the “Israeli” judiciary toward the military establishment and a continuation of the media blackout policy pursued by the “Israeli” authorities since the start of its massive aggression on Gaza on October 7, 2023. This policy aims to conceal crimes and violations against civilians and prevent international witnesses from conveying the truth to the world.
The Center emphasized that the continuation of this ban constitutes a clear violation of Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which guarantees everyone the right to receive and impart information freely. It also contradicts the provisions of international humanitarian law that guarantee freedom of the press in conflict zones.
It pointed out that the “Israeli” court’s decision contributes to obstructing independent international oversight of events in Gaza and undermining transparency.
The center noted that this decision comes after more than 255 Palestinian journalists, both male and female, were martyred since the start of the aggression, making the war on Gaza the bloodiest in the history of modern journalism, amidst a disturbing international silence and a clear failure to protect media professionals.
It also emphasized that the ban on foreign media entry doubles the risks to civilian witnesses and increases the difficulty of documenting war crimes and violations committed by the Israeli enemy during two years of genocide and mass destruction.
The Center for Defending Palestinian Journalists called on the international community, human rights organizations, and media organizations to exert effective and real pressure on the Israeli authorities to lift this ban immediately and enable the media to fulfill their professional and humanitarian duty of conveying the suffering of the Palestinian people to the world.
The center pointed out that preventing the media from entering Gaza will not succeed in concealing the truth, and that the testimonies and images coming from the heart of the Strip will remain damning evidence of the crimes of the Israeli enemy and its attempts to obscure the facts by silencing cameras and concealing witnesses.