UN experts call on Israel to stop attacks, harassment of journalists in occupied West Bank

By Peter Kenny

GENEVA (AA) – UN experts on Thursday condemned incidents of violence, harassment, intimidation, and obstruction of journalists in the occupied West Bank, which have recently escalated by Israel’s sudden military offensive launched on Aug. 27.

“We strongly denounce the attacks and harassment of journalists in the illegally occupied West Bank, which are nothing but crude attempts by the Israeli army to block independent reporting on potential war crimes,” the experts said.

The experts are Irene Khan, special rapporteur on the right to freedom of opinion and expression, and Francesca Albanese, special rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territories occupied since 1967.

They cited at least three incidents in September in Jenin and Tulkarm in the West Bank, in which Israeli security forces fired live ammunition at journalists or their vehicles while reporting on military operations and civilian casualties.

At least four journalists were injured as a result, even though several of them were wearing clearly marked press jackets.

Since Aug. 27, the experts said journalists, including an Al Jazeera team, had been impeded from doing their work and forced to flee due to threats from the Israeli military.

They said in one case, the military searched their phones and forced them to delete material.

At least one journalist was arbitrarily arrested and interrogated, while numerous others reported being chased by bulldozers operated by Israeli security forces.

- Gaza replicated in West Bank

“It is deeply disturbing to see Israeli soldiers in the West Bank replicating the same disdain for the safety of journalists as in Gaza in blatant violation of international law. Foreign media continue to be denied access to Gaza, and now their safety in the West Bank is also being seriously threatened, gravely hindering their journalistic work,” the experts said.

Since October 2023, Israeli forces have arrested at least 29 journalists in the occupied West Bank, while the Palestinian Authority has detained three.

Several of them are still in Israel’s administrative detention.

The experts said cases of journalists, including women journalists, being subjected to ill-treatment while in Israeli custody, including sexual and gender-based violence, have been documented.

“Detention of journalists, along with reports of torture and ill-treatment and violation of due process in the context of an occupation that the International Court of Justice just declared unlawful, raise serious concerns regarding the punitive nature of such deprivation of liberty, and the right of journalists to tell the world about the assault on the Palestinian people’s self-determination, continued dispossession, forced displacement, and oppression,” the experts said.

They expressed concern that no cases of journalists killed, injured, or harassed in the occupied Palestinian Territory have been transparently investigated or the suspected perpetrators brought to justice by Israeli authorities.

“Even the emblematic killing of Shireen Abu Akhleh in 2022 remains unresolved despite clear evidence of Israeli forces’ culpability.

“As long as Israel remains an occupying power, it is obliged to respect the work of journalists and media workers in the occupied Palestinian Territory and to ensure their safety, by international humanitarian and human rights law.

“Both the International Court of Justice and the International Criminal Court are encouraged to consider the widespread and systematic attack on journalists and media workers as part of their ongoing investigations,” the experts said.

The experts said they are in contact with the Israeli government.