The Israeli Supreme Court rejected a petition submitted by international media to allow its journalists to enter Gaza. The court cited security reasons, while the Jerusalem Press Association expressed its disappointment.
The court considered that the security conditions justified the restrictions imposed because the entry of journalists independently could “endanger” Israeli soldiers fighting the Palestinian resistance, led by the Al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas).
The decision issued by the court on Monday stated that allowing journalists to enter Gaza may lead to revealing details of operations, including the locations of forces and members, in a way that could “expose them to real danger.”
But the Foreign Press Association in Jerusalem, which submitted the petition as it represents dozens of international media organizations in Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories, expressed its “disappointment” with the ruling.
It said in a statement issued on Tuesday, “The ban imposed by Israel on the entry of independent foreign press into Gaza, for a period of 95 continuous days, is unprecedented.”
In its decision, the court said it sought to find a balance between the safety of journalists and soldiers and “freedom of the press.”
The court stressed that foreign and Israeli journalists are allowed limited access to Gaza under the guard of the Israeli army.
However, the association said that military guarding is “confined to selected foreign media outlets” and that they are “subject to strict censorship.”
The association considered that Israel’s concerns regarding reporting on troop locations are unconvincing as Palestinian journalists continue to work in Gaza, stressing that the foreign press must be enabled to enter areas in Gaza where Israeli forces are not deployed.
Since the outbreak of the Israeli aggression on Gaza three months ago, dozens of media professionals have been killed, most of them Palestinians, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists, headquartered in New York.
On Sunday, Tel Aviv Tribune announced the martyrdom of two of its journalists working in the Gaza Strip in an Israeli raid on a car they were in. As a result, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights on Monday expressed its “great concern” about the toll.
The Israeli bombing of the Gaza Strip, accompanied by a ground attack starting on October 27, led to the death of more than 23,000 and the injury of about 60,000 others, the majority of whom were women and children, according to the latest statistics of the government’s Ministry of Health in Gaza.