In Condemnation of Israel’s Ongoing Killings of Palestinian Journalists
On January 9, 22-year-old self-described “accidental war correspondent” Abubaker Abed spoke out against the lack of support for Palestinian journalists from the international press.
“We have been let down by the international community, particularly the international media organizations,” said Abed as he stood among a crowd of fellow journalists.
He pointed out that the protective gear marked “PRESS” that war correspondents often wear marks Palestinian journalists as targets for Israeli forces carrying out genocide in the Gaza Strip, rather than offering them any meaningful protection.
Abed’s words came just two weeks after an Israeli strike killed five journalists from the Al Quds Network while they were in a van similarly marked “PRESS.” Another journalist was also killed on January 3, bringing the total number of Palestinian journalists killed by Israel since the start of the genocide to at least 198, according to the Palestinian Journalists Syndicate.
The deliberate killing of journalists is a violation of international law, yet after more than a year of Israel’s genocide, journalists continue to be killed by the Israeli military. To make matters worse, legacy media outlets like The New York Times have failed to detail Israel’s war crimes despite substantiation by authorities like Human Rights Watch in their report “Extermination and Acts of Genocide.”
The Industrial Workers of the World Freelance Journalists Union joins Abed and his fellow Palestinian journalists in condemning the media silence around Israel’s genocide and in demanding support for Palestinian journalists from international media organizations.
We urge all journalists and media workers across the globe to help platform, boost and share the work of journalists in Palestine. We also urge our members and supporters to continue to contribute to the PJS via the International Federation of Journalists. We stand in solidarity with journalists in occupied Palestine and, as always, echo the motto of the IWW: An injury to one is an injury to all!