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

  

CPJ condemns Israeli vote to shut down Al Jazeera; warns of alarming precedent

Beirut, May 5, 2024 – The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the Israeli cabinet’s decision to shut down Al Jazeera’s operations in Israel and warns that the vote could set a dangerous precedent for other international media outlets working in Israel.    The cabinet vote on Sunday, announced by the Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on X, came after Israel’s…

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Palestinian journalist Saif Kwasmi in Jerusalem in a video from 2022.

Israeli police detain and assault Palestinian journalist Saif Kwasmi

New York, April 29, 2024—The Committee to Protect Journalists on Monday called on Israeli security forces to stop harassing journalists in the Palestinian territory of the West Bank and allow them to report the news freely and without fear of reprisal. On April 24, Palestinian freelance journalist Saif Kwasmi was reporting on activities at Jerusalem’s…

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European Union high representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell, shown here speaking to journalists in Brussels in 2023, told the European Parliament on April 23, 2024, that the European External Action Service was ‘appalled’ by the ‘unprecedented’ number of journalists and media workers killed in six months of the Israel-Gaza war. (Photo by John THYS / AFP)

CPJ welcomes call by EU’s Borrell on protecting journalists in Israel-Gaza war; urges further action by EU states

Brussels, April 23, 2024— The Committee to Protect Journalists welcomes Tuesday’s remarks by the European Union’s Josep Borrell about the need to protect journalists in the Israel-Gaza war and calls on all EU member states also to make or renew calls that both sides should respect international law during the conflict, take all measures to…

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Palestinian intelligence arrests journalist Khalil Dweeb in Bethlehem

New York, April 19, 2024—Palestinian authorities in the West Bank must immediately and unconditionally release journalist Khalil Dweeb, who has been detained since Tuesday, April 16, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Friday. Two Palestinian General Intelligence Service agents arrested Dweeb, a freelance camera operator who contributes to the Qatari broadcaster Al-Jazeera, on Tuesday after…

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CPJ seeks probe of Israeli attack on TV journalists wearing press insignia

Washington, D.C., April 12, 2024—The Committee to Protect Journalists calls for an independent investigation into the Israeli attack on journalists in Gaza working for the national public broadcaster of Turkey, Turkish Radio and Television Corporation (TRT). The attack critically injured TRT Arabi camera operator Sami Shehadeh, whose leg was later amputated. On Friday, four Palestinian…

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CPJ calls for probe of attack injuring 8 journalists at Gaza hospital

Washington, D.C., April 11, 2024—The Committee to Protect Journalists calls for an independent investigation into the Israeli attack on Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital that injured at least eight journalists on assignment. On Sunday, March 31, around 11:30 a.m., an Israeli strike hit a tent encampment outside of Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir al-Balah, in central Gaza….

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A general view of Nablus in the occupied West Bank in 2024.

Journalist Ahmed al-Bitawi arrested while covering pro-Gaza march in the West Bank

New York, April 5, 2024—Palestinian authorities in the West Bank must immediately and unconditionally release journalist Ahmed al-Bitawi, who has been in detention since March 30, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Friday. On March 29, Palestinian General Intelligence Service agents arrested al-Bitawi, a reporter for Sanad News Agency, in the Palestinian West Bank city…

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Diaa Al-Kahlout, Gaza bureau chief for Al-Araby Al-Jadeed

Gaza journalist Diaa Al-Kahlout describes 33 harrowing days in Israeli custody

Diaa Al-Kahlout, the veteran Gaza bureau chief for the Qatari-funded London-based newspaper Al-Araby Al-Jadeed, had been covering the Israel-Gaza war for two months when he became part of the news. On December 7, Al-Kahlout was detained along with members of his family by Israeli forces in a mass arrest in Beit Lahya in northern Gaza….

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Gaza journalists struggle to report as they ‘expect to die daily’

New York-based Hoda Osman has spent the past six months helping Gaza journalists replace cameras, laptops, and phones lost or damaged in the Israel-Gaza war. More than 5,500 miles away, in the occupied West Bank city of Ramallah, Wafa’ Abdel Rahman coordinates humanitarian supplies and cash assistance for reporters under Israeli bombardment, while Rania Khayyat,…

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CPJ urges Netanyahu government not to shut down Al-Jazeera in Israel

Washington, D.C., April 1, 2024—The Committee to Protect Journalists urgently calls on the Israeli government not to close the Jerusalem-based bureau of Qatari broadcaster Al-Jazeera and allow the media to report freely on news events in Israel and Gaza during the current conflict. On Monday, Israel’s parliament, the Knesset, passed a law allowing the government…

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