On the International Day of Solidarity with Palestinian Journalists, Palestinian Journalists are at the Heart of the Israeli Targeting Circle

Author: Nihad Abu Ghosh

In most countries around the world, especially those with reasonable margins of freedom and democracy, a journalist's card can serve as a means to facilitate the life and mission of its holder, allowing them to enter places that are generally difficult to access. Sometimes it provides financial discounts in hotels and transportation, in addition to the respect that the cardholder receives whether it is issued by an institution, a journalists' union, or a regional federation like the Arab Journalists Union or the International Federation of Journalists.

However, unfortunately, the situation is not the same in most Arab countries, as a journalist's card indicates that you are suspicious in the eyes of the authorities and security agencies, and it can prevent you from entering the country, especially if it is noted in the profession field. It can also lead to delays and detentions for a few hours at the border, and you may be subjected to questioning as if you were arriving on a security mission, and you must prove that you are coming for a regular visit: tourism, visiting relatives, or other reasons except for journalism.

The restrictions are even greater on the Palestinian journalist, as he embodies the dual identity of Palestinian identity and the profession of journalism, both of which are crimes that must be punished. The situation becomes more critical and complicated if this unfortunate journalist has security records in a certain country, or is known for having critical opinions and problematic stances. Therefore, do not believe all the speeches and claims that glorify the Palestinian journalist and praise him, which will intensify on the International Day of Solidarity with Palestinian Journalists, which falls on the twenty-sixth of each year. The International Federation of Journalists established this day in 1996 following the Tunnel Uprising and the violence faced by journalists from the occupying state, in solidarity with Palestinian journalists who are often at the forefront of being targeted by the occupying forces. They are mostly individuals who are not welcomed by most Arab security authorities, as the journalist is suspicious and accused until proven innocent, or until they seek heavy assistance to help them enter the concerned country.

If journalism is described in every country in the world as the "profession of troubles," in Palestine it is the "profession of dangers." This is not a metaphorical statement but is confirmed by the language of numbers and statistics. Before the war on Gaza, the documented number of journalist martyrs between 2000 and 2023 reached 55 journalists, and these were not killed in battlefields as "collateral damage" according to the Israeli army and what was narrated in the film (Naza), but were targeted because they were journalists, as was the case with the martyr Shireen Abu Akleh, an icon of Palestinian and global journalism. This is in contrast to hundreds of cases of injuries and arrests – there are currently about 40 journalists detained – along with severe beatings, destruction of tools, cameras, and recording devices, which journalists face daily at the hands of the occupation forces and their security apparatuses.

We can enumerate a set of reasons for the targeting of journalists, including the nature of Palestine as a continuously hot and tense spot, and the necessity for journalists to be present at the scene of events for direct coverage. However, the most important and central reason has been and remains the targeting of journalists to obscure the truth and hide what is happening from the eyes and ears of the world, monopolizing the narrative, limiting it to the Israeli machine of lies and propaganda, and to the journalists who accompany the occupation soldiers in their armored vehicles, thus unifying the image they convey with what is seen through the scope mounted on the rifle, cannon, and tank.

During the war on Gaza, an unprecedented qualitative shift occurred in all wars in the world. Targeting journalists became a systematic policy that the spokespersons for the occupation do not hesitate to acknowledge, justifying it by claiming that journalists were covering the activities of the Israeli army, or that they belonged to some resistance factions, or were fighters disguised as journalists. Thus, Israel killed more than 262 journalists during the war on Gaza, constituting about 20% of the total journalistic body in the Gaza Strip, a huge and frightening percentage that reaches nearly five times the ratio of the number of martyrs in the sector to the general population, based on an estimate that the number of martyrs reached 80,000 out of two million inhabitants present in the sector during the genocide war.

With further research and scrutiny, we can find other horrifying ratios for the targeting of specific segments of the population, such as medical teams, civil defense personnel, university professors and academics, and police officers. These targeting incidents indicate the far-reaching goals of this war, including the eradication of elements of awareness and the foundations for building society, its health, well-being, and survival as part of a plan to prepare Gaza for the broader scheme of displacement.

Israel would not have been able to continue its systematic killing if it weren't for the silence over its previous crimes, and the (un)civilized world's tolerance for the crimes of killing journalists and making excuses and justifications for everything Israel does. Some European leaders still view it as a "flower blooming in the desert," as Ursula von der Leyen, the President of the European Commission, said during her visit to Israel after the assassination of Shireen Abu Akleh. This comes after European leaders have repeatedly echoed Israel's right to defend itself. After all this, we find among these self-proclaimed advocates of civilization and progress those who applaud and cheer for Benjamin Netanyahu when he delivered his speech of lies and rhetoric in a nearly empty hall.