James Miller

Israeli troops and armor re-entered the Gaza Strip in late June to stop Palestinians from firing crudely made rockets from the north into Israeli towns along the border. Nearly 370 Palestinians, half of them civilians, were killed in the ensuing six-month Israeli offensive, which intensified after the seizure of an Israeli soldier. Palestinian journalists covering the military operations alleged that they were targeted by Israeli forces in several instances. The allegation was supported in one case by the Foreign Press Association (FPA) in Israel. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) denied that it targeted journalists but said it would investigate the complaints.

By Mathew Hansen

Hundreds of journalists have been killed over 15 years, many on the orders of government officials. Few cases are ever solved. In the Fall/Winter 2006 edition of Dangerous Assignments

New York, April 5, 2006—The Committee to Protect Journalists today renewed its call for Israel to properly investigate the killing of a British cameraman in the Gaza Strip after a London court found that his shooting by an Israeli officer was murder. James Miller, an award-winning filmmaker, was filming a documentary about Palestinian children caught up in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict when he was hit by a single shot in the neck three years ago.

ISRAEL and the OCCUPIED PALESTINIAN TERRITORY

In August, Israel facilitated access to hundreds of foreign journalists
to witness its withdrawal from the Gaza Strip, even providing shuttle buses to the Jewish settlements that were being dismantled. Such cooperation with the press by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) was rare the rest of the year. Journalists working in the Occupied Palestinian Territory faced dangerous and unpredictable conditions daily. While no journalists were killed there, the Israeli army and security services continued to commit abuses against journalists, including beatings, arrests, destruction of equipment, and restrictions on freedom of movement. Palestinian journalists bore the brunt of the attacks.

New York, April 14, 2005—The Israel Defense Forces said today that it would not take disciplinary action against an officer thought responsible for the May 2003 shooting death of British freelance cameraman and film director James Miller in the Gaza Strip. The Committee to Protect Journalists is deeply disturbed by the decision, which comes one month after the army declined to press criminal charges against the officer.

Israel and the Occupied Territories, including the Palestinian Authority Territories

With Iraq dominating media security concerns in the Middle East, journalists covering the region's other main flash point quietly faced a familiar array of hazards on the job. The occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip remained two of the most dangerous and unpredictable assignments for journalists in 2004, largely because of the conduct of Israeli troops. Although the situation was not as dire as in other years, like 2002, when fighting was at peak levels, Israel's army and security services continued to commit a range of abuses against working journalists, who faced the possibilities of gunfire, physical abuse, and arrest, in addition to sharp limits on their freedom of movement.

New York, March 9, 2005—Israel's army said today that it would not press criminal charges against a soldier thought responsible for the May 2003 shooting death of British freelance cameraman and film director James Miller in the Gaza Strip.

In Tel Aviv, Brig. Gen. Avichai Mandelblith told members of Miller's family that the soldier would instead be disciplined for violating the rules of engagement and for changing his account of the incident. Mandelblith, the military's prosecutor-general, ordered the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) to begin disciplinary proceedings. The IDF did not immediately disclose potential disciplinary measures.

War and political violence drew hundreds of journalists to the Middle East in 2003 for what proved to be a series of relentlessly dangerous assignments. The U.S.-led war in Iraq was one of the most heavily covered conflicts in modern history--and one of the deadliest for journalists. Thirteen reporters died from hostile acts, both during and after the conflict, while several more died from illnesses or accidents. The sources of danger were varied and often unpredictable. At least four were killed by U.S. fire, three on the same day, April 8, when the shelling of Baghdad's Palestine Hotel killed two journalists and an air strike on the Baghdad bureau of the Qatar-based broadcaster Al-Jazeera killed another. Four journalists embedded with U.S. troops were killed by Iraqi fire. Still others were killed by land mines or died in suicide bombings.

The Israeli army continued to imperil reporters and restrict their work in the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip, making the area one of the most complicated and dangerous assignments for journalists in the Middle East. During 2003, two journalists were shot and killed by Israel Defense Forces (IDF) fire. Others encountered harsh treatment at checkpoints or had to contend with army-imposed limits on their movements.

Dear Lieutenant General Yaalon:

The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is writing to request information about the status of the Israel Defense Forces' (IDF) investigations into the shooting deaths of two journalists in the West Bank and Gaza Strip in 2003, and to reiterate our call for a thorough inquiry into these deaths.

According to CPJ research, Nazih Darwazeh, a cameraman for the Associated Press Television News, and James Miller, a freelance cameraman and film director, were killed by Israeli army gunfire within a two-week span during the spring of 2003. We understand that a military police investigation is already under way into Miller's death. However, the status of Darwazeh's case is unclear.