Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territory / Middle East & North Africa

  

Slideshow: Journalists killed in 2014

In 2014, at least 60 journalists and 11 media workers were killed in relation to their work, according to CPJ research. Local and international journalists died covering conflicts, including in Syria, Iraq, and Ukraine, while many others were murdered reporting on corruption and organized crime in their own countries. Here, CPJ remembers some of the…

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Palestinians search the rubble of their family house which was hit by an Israeli strike in Beit Hanoun, in the northern Gaza Strip. (AP/Adel Hana)

After journalist killings, potential violations in Gaza must be investigated

After 50 bloody days of conflict, it looks like a ceasefire may finally take hold in Israel and Gaza. Recently Gaza has been one of the deadliest places in the world for the press. According to CPJ research, at least seven journalists and media workers were killed on the job in four separate incidents.

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Journalists ride in an army soldiers' carrier to the front line during clashes between forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and opposition fighters on August 24, 2013. (Reuters/Khaled al-Hariri)

Arab journalists need training for civil unrest and wars

In recent years, Arab journalists have been taking great risks to report important stories in a region where war and civil unrest remain an ever-present threat. Many are operating without proper equipment or safety training in how to recognize and mitigate the various risks they face.

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A Palestinian warms himself at the rubble of his house that witnesses said was destroyed in an Israeli air strike during a week of fierce fighting in Gaza City in November. (Reuters/Mohammed Salem)

Israel fails to support decision to target Gaza journalists

After two months of asking Israeli authorities to explain their decision to attack journalists and media facilities in Gaza in November, CPJ has received an official response. Our inquiries–in the form of a letter and blog by Executive Director Joel Simon, as well as phone calls and emails to the office of the Israeli prime…

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Smoke rises following an Israeli airstrike on Gaza on November 17, 2012. (AP/Ariel Schalit)

Will Israel respond to query on targeting Gaza journalists?

On December 2, CPJ sent a letter to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu requesting an explanation for airstrikes on media facilities during the November 2012 military action in Gaza. The strikes damaged two media buildings and killed and injured a number of journalists. Israeli officials said the military targeted terrorist infrastructure, but provided no explanation…

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US pursues return of Palestinian TV station’s equipment

For more than five months, the Ramallah-based private television broadcaster Wattan TV has been without key equipment, including transmitters, computers, files, and archives. On February 29, Israeli soldiers and officials from the Ministry of Communications raided the station without a warrant, saying it was broadcasting illegally and interfering with aircraft transmissions.

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State-sponsored attacks: open season on online journalists

The last few weeks have offered the strongest indications yet that nation-states are using customized software to exploit security flaws on personal computers and consumer Internet services to spy on their users. The countries suspected include the United States, Israel, and China. Journalists should pay attention–not only because this is a growing story, but because…

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Palestinian TV wants US help retrieving seized transmitter

Wattan TV bills itself as the voice of the voiceless. But since the Israeli army gutted its Ramallah headquarters in a predawn raid two months ago, that voice has been reduced to a whisper.

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Plainclothes police escort Syed Mohammed Kazmi, an alleged suspect in last month's bombing of an Israeli diplomatic vehicle, from a local court, in New Delhi Wednesday. (AP/Manish Swarup)

Arrest in bombing case prompts scrutiny in India

To many in the Indian media community, the arrest of independent journalist Syed Mohammad Kazmi by the Delhi police’s Special Cell on March 6 for his alleged involvement in a bombing brings back troublesome memories.

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Israel's new law makes supporting boycott campaigns a civil offense. (AP)

Israel’s ‘anti-boycott’ law hurts the country’s journalists

Two weeks ago, late on a Monday evening, the Israeli parliament passed a controversial law aimed at protecting the country from calls to boycott Israel because of its policies about Palestinians. The law, dubbed the “anti-boycott” law, makes supporting these campaigns a civil offense in the state of Israel. Days after the bill passed, public…

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