The Committee to Support Journalists issued its semi-annual report for the year 2022, and indicated that there is a noticeable escalation of the occupation´s assault on media freedoms in the occupied Palestinian territories, after the martyrdom of two female journalists, and dozens of wounded.
The report covers the period between January 1, 2022 and June 30, 2022, noting that violations against journalists and media professionals were committed intentionally and that excessive force was used without regard to the principles of discrimination and proportionality, violating all international, human rights and human rights covenants that guarantee freedom of journalistic work. .
The semi-annual report for the year 2022 documented more than (412) violations of press freedom by the Israeli occupationThe Palestinian parties amounted to 35 violations, including: crimes of violating the right to life and personal safety of journalists, and subjecting journalists to killing, arrest, targeting and other means of violence or humiliation and degrading treatment.
Israeli violations: 412 violations
. The report recorded crimes of assassination, targeting, arresting and detaining journalists, preventing journalists from entering certain areas or covering events, confiscating press equipment, equipment and materials, preventing journalists from traveling abroad, raiding journalists’ homes, closing media institutions, threatening others, and intensifying incitement campaigns. On journalists and some media and others.
The committee monitored the violations of the Israeli occupation during the period covered by this report (2) cases of assassination, namely, Shireen Abu Aqleh, Al-Jazeera correspondent, who was killed as a result of being shot in the head during her coverage of the occupation’s storming of Jenin refugee camp, as well as the journalist Ghufran and Rasna, 31 years old, who was killed as a result of shooting Bullets on her as she passed an Israeli military checkpoint in Al-Aroub camp in Hebron.
On the side of the assaults and injuries, the report documented (137) cases of targeting, whether directly with live bullets or rubber-coated, or dragging and beating, inflicting harm, fractures and bruises throughout their body, humiliation, degrading treatment, suffocation as a result of inhaling poisonous and pepper gas, and their equipment being destroyed and smashed.
It also recorded (47) cases in which journalists were subjected to arrest, summons and detention, including four cases of deportation and home confinement, and the use of six of them as human shields.
It also documented, during the past six months of this year, (18) violations, ranging from extending detention more than once prior to the date of their release, such as renewing the administrative detention of journalist Bushra Al-Taweel, confirming sentences against journalists, issuing sentences against others, and postponing the trial of some of them. They are still in occupation prisons.
The report also monitored 154 cases in which journalists were prevented from practicing their work and covering events, to prevent them from exposing the crimes of the occupation against the Palestinian people. During which (8 equipment, press cards, and identities) were confiscated.
In addition, (14) cases of incitement, accusations, and prosecution of journalists and media organizations were recorded, forcing them to pay a fine.
In addition to recording (22) cases of intrusion, raid, search and destruction of devices, equipment, cameras, mobile phones and press materials of journalists´ homes and media institutions.
The report focused on the violations and harassment of journalists in the occupation prisons, which amounted to (10) violations, represented in harsh investigations amid insults, insults and threats, preventing their families from seeing them, in addition to medical negligence and the practice of solitary confinement against some of them and preventing the use of their simplest personal tools. Among them, four were forced to pay a fine before being released.
With regard to internal Palestinian violations, the semi-annual report for the year 2022 recorded nearly (35) violations, distributed in 9 cases in Gaza and 26 cases in the West Bank, represented by the arrest of (17) cases of journalists, the extension of the detention of (7) cases, and the assault and injury amounted to ( 3) Cases, accusing, inciting and threatening (4) cases.
It was also prevented from covering and obstructing the work of (2) cases, while (1) cases of raids and raids were recorded, in addition to documenting (1) violations against journalists inside political detention.
