Israel Intentionally Shot Journalists in Gaza, Condemns Reporters Without Borders

The situation in many areas of the Middle East is dark. The areas is seemingly plagued with conflict, and it doesn't seem to be reducing anytime soon. If anything, it seems to be increasing.

One of the long term heated areas is around Israel. Israel was self-declared a country in 1948, and since then has been at war and engaging in unlawful occupations in Gaza, in illegal seizures of homes, bulldozing them, and building illegal settlements to steal more of Gaza for Israel.

In the past year there was a large protest by Gazans at their mistreatment called the Great Return March protests. Director-general of Reporters Without Borders (RSF, Reporters Sans Frontières) is saying the Israeli army has deliberately targeted and on journalists in Gaza which they occupy, resulting in deaths of journalists.

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Christophe Deloire is not only the director-general of RSF, but also received the the Dan David Prize in Tel Aviv. Here is what the Dan David Prize has to say about the RSF:

Reporters Without Borders, an international organization, that has emerged over the years as the major international organization helping to sustain the freedom of the press across national boundaries. It monitors government policies regarding the press and other media and provides material, financial and psychological support for journalists and newspapers discriminated and persecuted by the authorities. Since its founding in 1985, Reporters Without Borders has been able to assist more than 500 journalists and in some cases helped free some of them from arrest and imprisonments.

From its headquarters in Paris, and headed by its director-general Christophe Deloire, Reporters Without Borders maintains a presence in 150 countries. One of its major publications is the annual World Press Freedom Index, which follows meticulously, developments worldwide, using a sophisticated set of indices to monitor developments over time. In its research and reporting it views the degrees of press freedom as an indicator of the wider autonomy and freedom of civil society, and thus places the press in a wider social and political context.

The role of Reporters Without Borders in defending the freedom of the press and the security of publishers and journalists is incalculable. Its work has been widely acknowledged, as testified by the numerous awards bestowed upon it.

RSF is a highly respected organization. So when he says Israel is committing war crimes by targeting journalists, it will make waves. He spoke to the Jerusalem Post soon after about the war crimes.

“It is a war crime to target journalists because they are journalists. When Israel shot those journalists [during the Great Return March protests], it was intentional... The journalists could be clearly identified as journalists, with cameras and jackets and it could not be just by chance.”

His remarks are established facts which are corroborated by the UN's Commission of Inquiry into the Gaza protests. The report concluded:

"... in all but two of the 189 fatalities investigated, the use of live ammunition by Israeli security forces against demonstrators was unlawful."

*"Accordingly, I support the Commission’s call for accountability with respect to those who used lethal fire unlawfully, and for those who drafted and approved the rules of engagement which permitted this illegal use of lethal fire."

"in the context of an occupation, the killings at the Gaza fence resulting from the unlawful use of force might well constitute wilful killings of the protected population, which constitute a grave breach of the Fourth Geneva Convention and potentially a war crime under the Rome Statute."

Deloire conveyed the crimes of the Israeli government who could not have been unaware of the journalists, nor mistakingly targeted them, which wouldn;t be excusable even if they were not journalists.

"The Israeli authorities could not have been unaware of the presence of journalists among the civilian demonstrators, and therefore failed in the elementary duty of precaution and differentiation when targeting these protected persons with live rounds. These deliberate and repeated violations of international humanitarian law constitute war crimes."

Israel may rank highest in press freedoms relative to many neighbors in the region. But as Deloire says, "editorial independence is not guaranteed". He was speaking of how even Israeli journalists were forbidden from entering Gaza during the protests which started in March 2018.

Deloire and RSF seem to be aware of important issues, like the persecution of Juilian Assange. After Assange's arrest, Deloire and RSF called on the UK to "to prioritise the principles of freedom of expression and protection of the role of journalism, including journalistic sources, in their treatment of Assange, in line with UK law and the UK’s international human rights obligations."

"Targeting Assange after nearly nine years because of Wikileaks’ provision of information to journalists that was in the public interest (such as the leaked US diplomatic cables) would be a purely punitive measure and would set a dangerous precedent for journalists, whistleblowers, and other journalistic sources that the US may wish to pursue in the future. The UK must stick to a principled stance with any related requests from the US to extradite Assange, and ensure his protection under UK and European law relevant to his contributions to journalism."

Despite calls for justice, there is little chance of it coming about for Assange, neither for the journalists shot in Gaza, nor the people of Gaza. Despite hundreds of resolutions and violations that Israel has made, nothing has been done to date. The occupation, oppression and thievery continues.

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Thank you for your time and attention. Peace.

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Posted from KURE