Foreign Press Association expresses concern over Israel barring journalists from entering Gaza

The Foreign Press Association (FPA) in Jerusalem expressed deep concern and regret that, a full year after submitting its second petition to the Israeli Supreme Court seeking free and independent access for foreign journalists to Gaza, no decision has yet been taken on the matter.

The statement added that although the matter is very urgent, the Israeli court repeatedly acceded to the government’s requests for adjournment, postponing hearing after hearing, noting that at the same time “the lives of our colleagues in Gaza, including FPA members, have been destroyed.”

The statement said, “Palestinian journalists have been directly targeted, their usual gathering places have been shelled, and at least 200 of them have been killed by Israeli fire — a number greater than in any other conflict in modern history,” the Foreign Press Association said, adding that despite all these dangers they continue to report the world’s news while facing not only violence but also hunger and repeated displacement.

The Foreign Press Association’s statement continued: “Israeli leaders and the army have made concerted efforts to smear the work of our Palestinian colleagues, and to a large extent the work of foreign journalism as a whole. This campaign to delegitimize journalists has created hazardous working conditions for journalists, leading to increased incitement, harassment and attacks on foreign media by Israeli civilians and members of Israeli security forces.”

The FPA said in its statement that “journalism is not a crime, and Israel must stop killing journalists in Gaza and grant foreign media independent freedom of access to the Gaza Strip. This ongoing, systematic delay in the process is a stain on Israel and its allies, who have often chosen not to speak up in defense of fundamental press freedoms.”