This month marks one year of ongoing war on the Occupied Palestinian Territories. The situation on the ground dramatically worsened for human rights defenders and journalists working from Gaza and the West Bank.
According to Consortium partner RSF, in one year, more than 130 Palestinian journalists have been killed by Israeli forces in Gaza. At least 32 of them were targeted and killed while working. Almost all the journalists in this closed territory have been displaced several times in the past year, and the few who have been forced into exile have no prospect of returning. Meanwhile, Israeli authorities continue to close access into Gaza for foreign journalists.
Furthermore, press offices have been destroyed and reporters have been arrested and tortured, according to RSF’s information; and internet and electricity are regularly cut off. Journalists who continue to work against all odds in this closed territory are frequently victims of propaganda campaigns that question their integrity, accusing them of working with combatants or having participated in the 7 October attacks.
This grave violations have affected also journalists in Lebanon and the West Bank RSF remembers the killing of Reuters videojournalist Issam Abdallah in southern Lebanon on 13 October, during strikes that injured six other journalists.
ProtectDefenders.eu has been informed about the widespread impunity with which these violations have been met. Despite the four complaints RSF filed with the International Criminal Court (ICC) for war crimes against journalists in Gaza, the perpetrators have still not been brought to justice, and the crimes continue.
We also recall that Israel has been repeatedly repressing Palestinian defenders and organisations resisting illegal occupation of land and the violation of the Palestinian right to self-determination. On 22 August 2023, human rights defender Sami Huraini was convicted of “assault of a soldier” and “obstruction of a soldier during duty”. Sami Huraini is a defender from the the West Bank that has been peacefully opposing the extension of illegal settlements and occupation in Southern Hebron. If found guilty he could face between 7 to 12 years in prison. Information still have to be shared on the outcome of the hearing.
As stated by Consortium partner FIDH, Israel has been acting outside international law for decades and continues to refuse to comply with it. FIDH underscores the importance of the ICJ’s findings in the context of Israel’s broader strategy to annex Palestinian land and displace its population, which have been accompanied by widespread violence against Palestinians. Until recently, FIDH has condemned the Israeli government’s plans to expand settlements and annex additional Palestinian land as blatant violations of international law. These actions systematically undermine the prospect of a future Palestinian state, violate international law and continue to prohibit the Palestinian people’s exercise of their collective rights.
