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

 JournalismPakistan.com |  Published July 12, 2024 at 01:44 am

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

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