The Journalists Support Committee confirmed a noticeable escalation in the Israeli occupation's attacks on press freedoms in the occupied Palestinian territories.
The committee said in a statement that was published on Thursday, December 30, 2021, that its annual report documented (832) Israeli violations against press freedom, which intensified in May 2021 during the Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip, as well as the attacks on journalists in the occupied West Bank and Jerusalem during their coverage of the peaceful activities and marches against settlements, the apartheid wall, settlers’ attacks on Palestinians, and the confiscation of Jerusalemite homes in occupied Jerusalem.
The annual report issued by the Journalists Support Committee for the year 2021, between January 1, 2021 and December 30, 2021, stated that violations against journalists and media professionals were committed intentionally and excessive force was used without any regard to the principles of discrimination and proportionality, in clear violation of all international conventions that guarantee freedom of journalistic work.
The annual report documented (832) violations against freedom of the press by the Israeli occupation, including 101 violations in the Gaza Strip during the Israeli last aggression on it. While (210) violations were documented by Palestinian parties in the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip, (9) of them in Gaza, and (201) in the West Bank.
The committee's report showed the extent of the excessive targeting of Palestinian journalists by the Israeli occupation forces, and their deliberate targeting of them in their homes or work places.
The report also documented the deliberate firing of live bullets, rubber-coated metal bullets and tear gas canisters towards journalists.
These Israeli violations against journalists happened despite them press vests with a (Press) written on them. By doing this, the Israeli occupation was trying to keep journalists and media away from the scene and continue to commit its crimes against citizens in the occupied Palestinian territories.
The Israeli occupation has also used the method of arrest, detention and financial fines against a number of journalists, with the aim of restricting their freedom of movement and work. It has prevented some of them from working or traveling, by confiscating their ID cards and equipment, in addition to using many methods of torture against them, to obstruct their work in exposing what its crimes against the Palestinian citizens.
The Journalists Support Committee noted in its report that the practices of the occupation government and its Ministry of Defense against journalists violate article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights regarding freedom of press. It explained that the occupation government does not respect these agreements and continue to commit daily violations against freedoms and journalists, which requires criminalizing the Israeli occupation and condemning it for committing war crimes, filing a complaint in the International Criminal Court regarding these crimes, forming a fact-finding committee from the European Parliament to document the Israeli crimes against journalists, and work to protect and compensate journalists for the damages they suffered from physically and financially.
The Israeli violations documented by the committee were as follows:
The committee documented the violations of the Israeli occupation during the period covered by this report. It documented the killing of the journalist Youssef Abu Hussein, 33, as a result of bombing his house by the Israeli occupation forces while he was inside in the Sheikh Radwan neighborhood north of Gaza City.
The report also recorded (260) cases of assault and injury, in which 13 journalists were injured in the Gaza Strip, many of whom suffered fractures and injuries as a result of direct shelling or being hit by shrapnel from the Israeli occupation’s missiles while they were covering the its aggression on civilian homes, agricultural lands, government, humanitarian, relief and media headquarters.
The report referred to (247) cases of violations in Jerusalem and the occupied West Bank, in which the occupation soldiers and settlers used live bullets, rubber-coated bullets, sound and gas bombs. They also assaulted and beat a number of journalists, including female journalists, and used dogs and sewage water against them to prevent them from covering the events.
The report showed that more than (116) journalists were subjected to arrest, summons, house arrest, deportation from Jerusalem or entering the Al-Aqsa Mosque.
The report also documented (52) different violations, as extending the detention of journalists more than once prior to their release date, confirming sentences against journalists, issuing sentences against others, and postponing the trial of some of them.
The report also documented (207) cases of journalists being prevented from practicing their work. The Israeli occupation prevented the Palestine TV office and crew from working in the occupied city of Jerusalem for the fourth time in a row, in an attempt to hide its crimes against the Palestinian citizens there. The report also documented (5) cases of travel bans, the most recognized of which was the ban of journalist Majdoleen Hassouna, journalist Alaa Al-Rimawi and journalist Asim Al-Shannar, in addition to (8) cases of incitement and accusation.
The Israeli occupation destroyed and closed more than (62) media institutions in the occupied Palestinian territories, including more than (59) media institutions, media and artistic production companies, printing presses and publishing houses, which were completely and partially destroyed during its recent aggression on the Gaza Strip. It also closed the Palestine TV office for the fourth time in a row in Jerusalem and the occupied interior, in addition to destroying research institutions in the occupied West Bank.
As for the destruction of press equipment and the raids launched by the Israeli occupation on journalists’ homes, printing presses and other media and advertising institutions, the report recorded (65) cases in the West Bank, Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip. 23 journalists’ homes and 5 vehicles were partially or completely damaged during the Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip, in addition to confiscating press equipment, equipment and materials from journalists’ homes and workplaces, as well as press cards in the West Bank and Jerusalem, which amounted to (26).
The report focused on the violations and harassment that journalists are subjected to in the occupation prisons, which amounted to (30) violations. These attacks were represented in torture and cruel treatment, preventing visits by their lawyers and families, refusing to release them, medical neglect in their treatment, imposing heavy financial fines on them, and depriving them of their legitimate rights.
The report listed the internal violations as follows:
Regarding internal Palestinian violations, the report documented approximately (210) violations, (201) of which were in the occupied West Bank, and (9) in the Gaza Strip.
The report also recorded (26) cases of intrusion and destruction, including two cases in the occupied Palestinian territories in 1948, (11) cases of threats and incitement, (55) cases of preventing coverage and obstructing work, (25) cases of closing institutions, blocking websites, freezing assets, and harassment, and ( 10) Cases of confiscation of equipment and press cards, in addition to (2) Case of violation and imposition of a fine.