
The International Press Institute (IPI) has strongly condemned the Israeli government’s recent decision to revoke the press passes of Al Jazeera journalists, months after the outlet was banned in the country.
“The Israeli government’s decision to revoke Al Jazeera press passes highlights a broader and deeply alarming pattern of harassment of journalists and attacks on press freedom in Israel and the region,” Scott Griffen, IPI interim executive director, said.
Nitzan Chen, director of Israel’s Government Press Office (GPO), announced the decision on Thursday, accusing Al Jazeera of spreading “false content” and “incitement against Israelis”.
- Griffen said the move was indicative of a “systematic effort” by Israeli authorities to “expand its control over media reporting about Israel, including reporting on and from Gaza”.
In May, Israel’s cabinet unanimously voted to shut down Al Jazeera in the country, immediately ordering the closure of its offices and a ban on the company’s broadcasts.
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At the time, Al Jazeera described it as a “criminal act” and warned that Israel’s suppression of the free press “stands in contravention of international and humanitarian law”.
Source: Al Jazeera
- German news media outlets have called on Israel to grant them access to Gaza, charging that the “almost complete exclusion of international media … is unprecedented in recent history”.
- “After almost a year of war, we call on the Israeli government: allow us to enter the Gaza Strip,” a group of newspapers, agencies and broadcasters wrote in an open letter.
They also urged Egypt to permit them entry to the widely devastated Palestinian territory via the Rafah border crossing in the south of the Gaza Strip.
Israel has killed more than 41,000 Palestinians and destroyed large parts of Gaza since it launched war on October 7 following an attack inside Israel claimed by Hamas. More than 1,100 people were killed in the attack by Palestinian groups.
Source: Al Jazeera