Press group blasts Israel for draconian ‘blackout’

Adam Schrader
·2 min read
19
UPI
A journalist screams after being wounded during clashes between Palestinians and Israeli soldiers along the Israel-Gaza border, east of Khan Yunis town in the southern Gaza Strip on September 15, 2023. File Photo by Abd Rahim Al-Khatib/ UPI

July 7 (UPI) -- The Foreign Press Association, a nonprofit organization representing journalists working in Israel and Palestine, has blasted Israeli authorities for what it called an "information blackout."

"Never before has Israel enforced such a long and strict information blackout," the FPA said in its statement Sunday.

"It has repeatedly rejected our appeals for access, fought us in court to uphold its draconian ban and offered just a handful of highly controlled 'embed' opportunities for a small number of our members."

The group added that Palestinian journalists in Gaza continue to face "unprecedented threats" from Israeli soldiers who monitor and restrict their movement."It raises questions about what Israel doesn't want international journalists to see," the nonprofit said in its statement.

Meanwhile, Israeli journalist Nir Hasson and Palestinian journalist Saif Kwasmi were harassed and assaulted by Israelis during the annual Jerusalem Day Flag March last week, earning condemnation from the U.S.-based Committee for the Protection of Journalists.

"An Israeli police officer started hitting me and took me to a side street to arrest me," Kwasmi told the nonprofit group. "I told him that I am a journalist and produced my card. They escorted the journalists outside of the Old City and to a place for journalists."

The annual march commemorates the June 5 capture of East Jerusalem by Israeli forces in the 1967 war. Palestinians have been banned from organizing protest marches for half a century and regularly censor media reporting on Israeli occupation.

In fact, Israel detained journalists simply on the suspicion they were working for Al Jazeera in May after outright banning the news broadcaster from reporting within Israel.

At least 48 journalists have been arrested by Israeli authorities since Oct. 7, the CPJ reported. Of those, 36 remain detained by Israel. Palestinian authorities have arrested just three journalists.

So far, 108 journalists covering the war have been killed and 32 reported injured. The circumstances of their deaths have been tracked by the nonprofit.