“Why Is Israel Afraid to Allow Foreign Journalists in Gaza? What’s It Hiding?” Haaretz Editorial. | Survivability News Jewish Voices Op-Ed.
Sep 11, 2024, Haaretz Editorial, | Eleven months into the war, it’s possible to say that the circumstances Israel used to justify barring the media from Gaza are no longer valid, and that it must allow the entry of foreign journalists so they can cover the war properly.
As a result of Israel’s control of the border crossings, which has become even tighter since the capture of Rafah, no foreign journalist can set foot in the Strip without the state’s approval. The blanket ban on entry to foreign journalists without an IDF Spokesperson’s Unit escort greatly damages the ability to report independently as well as the right of the public in Israel and around the world to know what is happening in Gaza.
The role of a journalist is to be on the ground, to speak directly to people and not just through spokespeople on behalf of vested interests, to feel the atmosphere and report on events. There is no comparison between unmediated reporting in the field and reporting via a third party, telephone interviews and analysis conducted with the aid of still or video images.
When Israel prevents journalists from going into Gaza it prevents them not only from reporting on the horrors of the warfare, but also from examining the claims of Hamas in real time – something that is a clear Israeli interest. When Israel prevents foreign journalists from covering what is happening in Gaza we must ask: What does the state have to hide? How does it benefit from journalists not entering Gaza?
The result of keeping foreign journalists from doing their jobs is that the hard work of reporting rests on the shoulders of Palestinian journalists, who are themselves suffering from the war and its harsh conditions.
Palestinian Islamic Jihad) – which makes the need for other journalists to enter Gaza even more urgent.
In any case, precisely during wartime there is great importance to permitting the entry of journalists who are not a party to the conflict: people who can cover the event without fear of pressure from their own society or government. In wartime today, when any image risks the accusation of having been generated using artificial intelligence, the role of the journalist in the field is more important than ever.
Israel must allow journalists into the Gaza Strip, so that everyone can better understand what is happening there and so that the fog of war can be cleared, if only slightly.
The above article is Haaretz’s lead editorial on Sep 11, 2024, and as published in the Hebrew and English newspapers in Israel. Click here to view on Haaretz website.
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