Targeting Journalists In Gaza Is A Systematic Policy To Suppress Free Speech

(MENAFN- Gulf Times) Speaking to Qatar News Agency (QNA) regarding the turning point in the Palestinian cause and the targeting of journalists in Gaza, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Qatar Press Center, Saad Al Rumaihi stated that the Israeli assaults on the Gaza Strip since October 7, 2023, represent a historic shift in the course of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, as the people of Gaza stood alone in the face of this brutal aggression that did not distinguish between people and stone.
He added that the Palestinian people have recorded a heroic epic that will be immortalized in history. Now, as the second year nears its end, the struggle and resistance of Gaza's people continue, despite the imbalance of power between the two sides.
Regarding the objective of the Israeli entity in continuing its aggression on the devastated Strip, Al Rumaihi stressed that people cannot learn the facts and what is happening on the ground and the course of battles, except through journalists and media professionals who deliver information to the public, as known in wars and major events.
He added that they are unknown soldiers who stand bravely so that the world can see, hear, and read the news of these events and understand the reality and what is happening.
Therefore, he accentuated, the Israeli occupation has deliberately silenced these voices as long as they convey to the world the true image and the tragedies faced by the people of Gaza.
He highlighted that the occupation can only achieve this through the most heinous and extreme violations, unfortunately, through the physical elimination of these great journalists.
He underscored that the Israeli assaults on Palestinian journalists clearly reveal Israel's insistence on imposing its unilateral media narrative, which contradicts the reality on the ground.
In light of the world's failure and inability to enact binding laws to protect journalists and media professionals and defend them against Israeli arrogance, the Chairman of the Qatar Press Center affirmed in his statements to QNA, that the situation requires urgent action to protect journalists, so that the matter does not remain a mere dream difficult to achieve.
Al Rumaihi confirmed that Israel continues its arrogance without any deterrent punishment from international bodies and organizations concerned with humanitarian and journalistic affairs.
He reiterated the need to capitalize on the wave of international outrage and the storm of criticism directed at Israeli policy due to its continuous and deliberate targeting of civilians in the Gaza Strip, including journalists, emphasizing the importance of harnessing the growing global humanitarian sentiment toward the Palestinian cause and Al Aqsa Mosque.
He pointed out that the demonstrations and sit-ins that have swept many countries around the world now reflect this solidarity, even in the United States of America, where university campuses have turned into platforms for defending Gaza and its people.
He explained that the Qatar Press Center has sought and continues to support the steadfastness of the people of Gaza through numerous media initiatives, seminars, exhibitions, news coverage, and other means, which it considers a duty as it lives through these events and follows their developments.
The Chairman of the Qatar Press Center concluded by emphasizing the necessity of standing by the Palestinian people, moving beyond mere condemnation and denunciation, which is all we currently possess.
He added that specialized global organizations must exert more pressure on Israel to stop its aggression against the Palestinian people, enabling them to obtain their most basic rights to live in safety and dignity.
With every Israeli assault on media workers in Gaza and the Palestinian territories, renewed calls emerge from all press unions, media, human rights, and legal organizations around the world for explicit condemnation of these repeated crimes, with the urgent need to put an end to them, so that Israel does not succeed in its attempts to silence voices and images and prevent the transmission of the truth about the crimes it commits against the Palestinian people.

targeting of journalists in Gaza Palestinian-Israeli conflict brutal aggression

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