Over 60 media and civil society organizations call for open access to Gaza

 JournalismPakistan.com |  Published: 12 July 2024

More than 60 media and civil society organizations have signed an open letter requesting unrestricted journalist access to Gaza. The letter highlights the increasing difficulties faced by local reporters and the need for accurate reporting amidst ongoing conflict.

Summary

NEW YORK—More than 60 media and civil society organizations have signed an open letter urging Israel to give journalists independent access to Gaza.

The organizations, among them the Associated Press, Agence France-Presse, BBC, CNN, The Guardian, The New York Times, and The Washington Post, point out that no independent media access to Gaza has been permitted since the start of the war, increasing the pressure on domestic journalists, and creating a space for mis- and disinformation to flourish.

"More than 100 journalists have been killed since the start of the war and those who remain are working in conditions of extreme deprivation. The result is that information from Gaza is becoming harder and harder to obtain and that the reporting which does get through is subject to repeated questions over its veracity," the organizations say in the letter, which was coordinated by the Committee to Protect Journalists.

The letter comes ahead of a planned visit by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to the United States, where he is set to meet with U.S. President Joe Biden and address the U.S. Congress on July 24.

CPJ CEO Jodie Ginsberg noted: "President Netanyahu describes Israel as a democracy. His actions with regard to the media tell a different story. International, Israeli, and Palestinian journalists from outside Gaza should be given independent access to Gaza so they can judge for themselves what is happening in this war—rather than being spoon-fed with a handful of organized tours by the Israeli military."

In addition to news outlets, the signatories—spanningn more than 26 countries—include professional groups and organizations dedicated to defending press freedom.

The Committee to Protect Journalists is an independent, nonprofit organization that promotes press freedom worldwide. It defends the right of journalists to report the news safely and without fear of reprisal.

Read the full letter below:

We, the undersigned, request that Israeli authorities end immediately the restrictions on foreign media entering Gaza and grant independent access to international news organizations seeking to access the territory.

Nine months into the war, international reporters are still being denied access to Gaza except for rare and escorted trips arranged by the Israeli military. This effective ban on foreign reporting has placed an impossible and unreasonable burden on local reporters to document a war through which they are living. More than 100 journalists have been killed since the start of the war and those who remain are working in conditions of extreme deprivation. The result is that information from Gaza is becoming harder and harder to obtain and that the reporting which does get through is subject to repeated questions over its veracity.

We fully understand the inherent risks in reporting from war zones. These are risks that many of our organizations have taken over decades in order to investigate, document developments as they occur, and understand the impacts of wars the world over.

A free and independent press is the cornerstone of democracy. We ask that Israel uphold its commitments to press freedom by providing foreign media with immediate, independent access to Gaza, and that Israel abides by its international obligations to protect journalists as civilians.

Signatories

ABC News, United States Agence France-Presse, France Alternative Press Syndicate, Lebanon Arab Reporters for Investigative Journalism Asian American Journalists Association, United States Associated Press, United States Association for International Broadcasting, United Kingdom Association of Foreign Press Correspondents, United States Bangladeshi Journalists in International Media, Bangladesh BBC News, United Kingdom Bianet, Turkey Bloomberg News, United States CBS News, United States CNN Worldwide, United States Community Media Forum Europe, Belgium CTV News, Canada Daily Maverick, South Africa Daraj, Lebanon Denik Referendum, Czech Republic European Broadcasting Union, Switzerland European Federation of Journalists Financial Times, United Kingdom fotosintesi.info, Italy Free Press Unlimited, The Netherlands Global Investigative Journalism Network Global Reporting Centre, Canada International Association of Women in Radio and Television International Center for Journalists, United States International Fund for Public Interest Media International News Safety Institute, United Kingdom ITN, United Kingdom Le Mauricien, Mauritius McLatchy, United States Media Development Center, Tunisia Media Diversity Institute, United Kingdom National Association of Hispanic Journalists, United States National Union of Journalists of the Philippines, The Philippines NBC News, United States Nieman Foundation for Journalism, Harvard University, United States NPR, United States Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project Premium Times, Nigeria Prospect Magazine, United Kingdom Public Media Alliance Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting, United States Rory Peck Trust, United Kingdom RTE News & Current Affairs, Ireland Rural Media Network, Pakistan Sky News, United Kingdom SMN24Media, Sri Lanka Somali Media Women Association, Somalia Sveriges Radio, Sweden The Bureau of Investigative Journalism, United Kingdom The Guardian, United Kingdom The Irish Times, Ireland The New York Times, United States The Washington Post, United States Twala, Algeria Vocento, Spain VRT News, Belgium Wattan Media Network, Palestine World Association for Christian Communication World Association of News Publishers (WAN-IFRA), Germany Yle News and Current Affairs, Finland