Palestinian National Council Urges Protection for Gaza, West Bank Journalists

(MENAFN) On Sunday, the Palestinian National Council—the highest authority within the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO)—called for international action to protect journalists facing Israeli aggression in Gaza and the occupied West Bank.

“The Israeli occupation is fully responsible for its crimes against journalists,” the council stated ahead of Arab Media Day.

“Assaults against journalists are a deliberate attempt to silence the voice of Palestine, and annihilate its narrative,” the statement continued.

Since October 2023, over 211 Palestinian journalists have lost their lives in Israeli strikes on Gaza, according to Palestinian sources.

“This year’s anniversary comes amid the deadliest chapters of contemporary Palestinian history, where our people have been subjected to more than 18 months of fascist and organized terrorist aggression,” the council stated.

The statement also emphasized that Palestinian reporters have become “the direct targets of the warplanes and missiles, in a flagrant violation of all humanitarian laws.”

"These crimes are being committed amid suspicious international silence and in flagrant defiance of international resolutions, notably the 4th Geneva Convention of 1949, which stipulates the protection of civilians, including journalists, during wars,” the council added.

Since the beginning of the war in October 2023, more than 51,200 Palestinians—primarily women and children—have been killed in Gaza.

In November 2024, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, accusing them of war crimes and crimes against humanity. Israel is also facing a genocide trial at the International Court of Justice.

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