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go through Nurah Tape – The Palestine Chronicle 
“By providing weapons used to deliberately kill journalists, you are participating in one of the worst insults to press freedom today.”
More than 100 journalists, news organizations and press freedom groups urged the U.S. government to “immediately halt” all arms transfers to Israel.
It is reported that “more than 160 journalists” have been killed since Israel launched its war on the Gaza Strip in October last year. explain In a letter to US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Thursday, it noted that this was the “highest number of journalists killed in war in recorded history”.
“Israel’s military actions would not be possible without American weapons, American military aid, and American diplomatic support. By providing weapons used to deliberately kill journalists, you accomplice This is one of the worst insults to press freedom today,” the letter reads.
Killings of Palestinian journalists continue — fueled by influx of U.S. weapons
Just a week ago, Palestinian journalist Ismail al-Ghoul and his photographer Rami al-Rifi Killed Israel bombed their vehicles.
“As journalists, publications and press freedom groups standing in solidarity with the courageous Palestinian journalists in Gaza, we call on you to do more to protect journalists and to demonstrate your unwavering support for a free and independent media by supporting an arms embargo against Israel,” the letter reads.
“Military Review”
The statement further noted that Israel has “spare no effort to suppress media coverage of the war in Gaza, impose military censorship on its own journalists and international journalists working in the country; and, with the help of Egypt, block all foreign journalists from entering Gaza.”
Israel closure The letter stressed the need to shut down Al Jazeera, raid its offices, seize its equipment, and block its broadcasts and website in the country.
War on journalists: Ismail al-Ghur and Rami al-Rifi killed in Israeli bombing in Gaza
The article said the world “can only rely on Palestinian journalists in Gaza to report the truth about the war and Israel’s massive violations of international law.”
Israel “deliberately targeted these journalists in an apparent effort to silence reporting on its attacks on Gaza.”
The letter goes on to say that investigations by UN agencies, non-governmental organizations and media organizations “have all uncovered instances of deliberate targeting of journalists.”
It also stressed that Israel has killed journalists in its war outside Gaza, such as on October 13, when “an Israeli tank crossed the Lebanese border and opened fire on identified journalists. kill A Reuters journalist was killed and six others were injured.”
Israel to shut down Al Jazeera TV as “a threat to national security”
‘War crimes’
“The deliberate targeting of journalists is a war crime under international law,” they said.
The letter further stressed that while all governments are bound by international law Protect The reporter pointed out that U.S. domestic law also prohibits the State Department from providing assistance to foreign security forces that are credibly accused of serious human rights violations.
“Israel’s routine practice of extrajudicial killings of journalists is well documented and constitutes a serious violation of human rights,” the letter reads.
Furthermore, it said, the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution protects the American people’s right to access information and ideas.
“By providing Israel with weapons to kill journalists, the U.S. State Department is abetting Israel’s violent crackdown on journalism,” the group said.
UNESCO honours Gaza journalists – how Israel inadvertently empowers Palestinian media
“The United States provides weapons to Israel for Target Palestinian journalists in Gaza. This is a violation of international law and U.S. domestic law. We urge you to immediately halt all arms transfers to Israel.”
The letter was signed by 113 journalists including Chris Hedges and Abby Martin, 20 news organizations including CounterPunch and Mondoweiss, and seven press freedom organizations including the Courage Foundation, FAIR (Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting), and the Freedom of the Press Foundation.
Ongoing genocide
Israel has faced international condemnation as it continues its brutal offensive against Gaza in defiance of a UN Security Council resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire.
Tel Aviv is currently on trial in an international court for committing genocide against Palestinians since launching a devastating war on Gaza last October.
According to the Gaza Ministry of Health, 40,005 Palestinians were killed and 92,401 injured. In addition, at least 11,000 people are still missing in the Gaza Strip, presumed dead under the rubble.
Gaza women face ‘increasing dehumanisation’ – UNRWA Commissioner-General
Israel said that 1,200 soldiers and civilians died in Operation Al-Aqsa Flood on October 7. Israeli media reported that many Israelis were killed by “friendly fire” that day.
Palestine and international organizations say most Among the dead and wounded were women and children.
The Israeli war led to severe famine, mainly in northern Gaza, and killed many Palestinians, most of them children.
The Israeli aggression has also resulted in the displacement of nearly 2 million people across the Gaza Strip, with the vast majority of the displaced forced into the densely populated southern city of Rafah near the Egyptian border, the largest Palestinian exodus since the 1948 Nakba.
In the later stages of the war, hundreds of thousands of Palestinians began to migrate from southern Gaza to central Gaza in search of safety.
(Palestine Chronicle)
– Nurah Tape is a journalist based in South Africa. She is the editor of The Palestine Chronicle.
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