The silence on the killing of journalists in Israel is dangerous for all The Israeli-Palestinian conflict

A December 26 press statement by the Israeli army attempted to justify the war crimes. It has openly admitted that the army burned five Palestinian journalists in a clearly marked car outside the al-Awda hospital in the Nuseirat refugee camp, in the middle of the Gaza Strip.

The five victims were Ibrahim Sheikh Ali, Faisal Abu al-Qumsan, Mohammed al-Ladaa, Fadi Hassouna, and Ayman al-Gedi. Ayman had arrived at the hospital with his wife who was about to give birth to their first child; he was visiting his colleagues by car when he was hit. Her baby boy was born a few hours later and now bears the name of his father who was not allowed to live long enough to celebrate his birth.

An Israeli military statement said the five Palestinians were “workers masquerading as journalists” and spreading “war propaganda” because they were working for Al-Quds Al-Youm TV, which is affiliated with the Palestinian Islamic Jihad organization. The Israeli army has made no claims that it actually carried weapons or was involved in any armed action.

Many Western publications quoted the statement of the Israeli military as if it were a specific situation and not a propaganda inciting war crimes. They failed to make it clear to their audience that attacking journalists, including journalists who may be accused of inciting “propaganda”, is a war crime; all journalists are protected under international humanitarian law, regardless of whether the forces like to report or not.

The Geneva Conventions Article 79 of the Addiction Protocol states that all journalists “participating in dangerous activities in conflict zones shall be considered citizens… [and] will be protected […] and without prejudice to the right of war correspondents authorized in the armed forces”.

In complete disregard of these provisions of international law, the Israeli army has been attacking Palestinian journalists for the past 15 months. According to the Gaza Government Media Office, 201 people have been killed in Gaza since October 7, 2023. Other estimates put the number at 217.

According to the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), about 138 Palestinian journalists were killed in Gaza and the occupied West Bank between October 7, 2023 and December 31, 2024. The organization counted five victims of Israeli military attacks. December 26 according to statistics.

The Paris-based Reporters Without Borders described the killing of Israeli journalists as “unprecedented bloodshed” and Palestine as “the most dangerous country for journalists”. CPJ also listed Israel as one of the top “protectors of journalists”.

Not only does Israel refuse to recognize any Palestinian journalistic work as protected, but it also prohibits foreign journalists from entering Gaza.

It has been really disturbing that the international media has done little to oppose this ban. With the exception of one petition signed by 60 media outlets in the summer, international media have not consistently followed through on these demands in 15 months.

When a major media organization is not granted access to a certain area, reference to this restriction is often attached to news reports as a form of protest. However, in the case of Gaza, Israel is given a pass, especially by mainstream Western media, and Israeli news releases are often passed off as facts.

This ease has allowed Israel to control the narrative and spread its claim that this is a self-defense war carried out by the “most moral army” in the world within the bounds of international law.

Although United Nations experts, some Israeli NGOs such as B'Tselem, and all major international human rights organizations have condemned Israel's actions, legacy media continue to give the benefit of the doubt. In the rare cases where Western outlets have investigated Israeli claims, as the New York Times did recently, the findings echo reports that Arab and Israeli left-wing media have made in recent months, detailing massive crimes being committed.

One of the reasons we have reached the point where Israel, which called itself “the only democracy in the Middle East”, killing journalists with impunity is because it has not been held accountable for the gradual escalation of violence against media workers over the years. .

The 2022 assassination of Palestinian-American journalist Shireen Abu Akleh in Jenin is a case in point. Despite the report and investigative work carried out by the Western media on his killing, Israel was still allowed to get away with the accusation that it was a “bad apple” and that the soldier responsible would be held accountable. He wasn't there.

What our international partners need to understand is that Israel's push to create a mass killing of journalists does not only threaten Palestinian media workers. If such despicable behavior in war zones is normal, then no journalist, regardless of the passport they hold, is safe.

It is time for the international media community to stop making excuses for Israel and call its actions for what they are: war crimes. It is time for journalists around the world to stand in solidarity with their Palestinian colleagues and demand accountability for those who killed them. It is time for them to demand action from their governments leading to direct sanctions against Israel.

The views expressed in this article are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect the editorial position of Al Jazeera.