The ‘Palestine exception’ to press freedom

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Over the weekend, Israeli military forces raided the Al Jazeera Ramallah press office in Palestine’s West Bank, and broadcasted the raid live on TV, delivering an order for the office to remain shut for the next 45 days. Soldiers tore down a poster of the late journalist Shireen Abu Akleh, an Al Jazeera reporter Israeli forces killed in 2022. (Forensic Architecture said it was an intentional targeting, and the United Nations and US agencies are currently investigating the killing.)

Less than a week after the raid, Palestinian journalist Bisan Owda, in partnership with Al Jazeera’s AJ+, won an award for the documentary “It’s Bisan from Gaza — and I’m Still Alive.” 

“It was a show of force, a show of intimidation to show journalists around the globe that what’s happening in Gaza and the West Bank isn’t allowed to be reported about,” Al Jazeera managing editor Mohamed Moawad told Democracy Now. Moawad and Al Jazeera have rejected Israel’s rationale for the raid, as they alleged the newsroom was “being used to incite terror, to support terrorist activities and that the channel’s broadcasts endanger … security and public order.” 

The jarring contrast reflects the ongoing double standard present when it comes to Palestinian journalists — while their work may be internationally lauded, their freedoms and lives remain under attack as they continue to cover the relentless Israeli bombardment of the Gaza strip. 

It’s not just Palestinian journalists who have been censored: The Foreign Press Association accused the Israeli government of imposing an unprecedented ban on independent foreign press access into Gaza. Over 50 journalists signed an open letter in February pushing for access.

Per the Committee to Protect Journalists, over 116 journalists (111 Palestinian, 2 Israeli and 3 Lebanese) have been killed since the genocide began. CPJ has classified at least five journalists’ killings as murders, as they were directly targeted by Israeli forces: Issam Abdallah, Hamza Al Dahdouh, Mustafa Thuraya, Ismail Al Ghoul, and Rami Al Refee. This month, the Israeli military has also escalated strikes on neighboring Lebanon. Reporters Without Borders has filed 4 complaints with the International Criminal Court for Israeli military war crimes. 

In January, Shuruq As’ad, a member of the Palestinian Journalist Syndicate, told The Nation Israel has been committing a “genocide of journalists.” 

“Every day we are losing one or two of our colleagues,” As’ad said. “But this is not new. This is the result of a political system in which the police, the mainstream media, the parliament, and the judiciary are all complicit.”

U.S. media institutions actively participate in that same system As’ad describes when they shy away from accurate language while continuing to censor and retaliate against journalists standing in solidarity with their Palestinian colleagues, from journalism professors to reporters on the ground.

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This piece was edited and copy edited by Gabe Schneider.

James Salanga is the co-director of The Objective and the podcast producer at The Sick Times.