UN experts urge Israel to stop attacks and harassment against journalists in occupied West Bank

GENEVA – UN experts* today condemned incidents of violence, harassment, intimidation and obstruction of journalists in the occupied West Bank, which have recently escalated under Israel’s sudden military offensive launched on 27 August.

“We strongly denounce the attacks and harassment of journalists in the illegally occupied West Bank, which are nothing but crude attempts by the Israeli army to block independent reporting on potential war crimes,” the experts said.

There have been at least three incidents in September, in Jenin and Tulkarm, where Israeli security forces fired live ammunition at journalists or their vehicles, while they were reporting on military operations and civilian casualties. At least 4 journalists were injured as a result, even though several of them wore clearly marked press jackets.

Since 27 August, journalists, including a team from Al Jazeera, have been impeded from doing their work and forced to leave under threat from the Israeli military. In one case, the military searched their personal phones and forced them to delete material. At least one journalist has been arbitrarily arrested and interrogated, while numerous others reported being chased by bulldozers operated by Israeli security forces.

“It is deeply disturbing to see Israeli soldiers in the West Bank replicating the same disdain for the safety of journalists as in Gaza in blatant violation of international law. Foreign media continue to be denied access to Gaza and now their safety in the West Bank is also being seriously threatened, gravely hindering their journalistic work,” the experts said.

Since October 2023, at least 29 journalists have been detained by Israeli forces in the occupied West Bank, and three by the Palestinian Authority. Several of them continue to be under administrative detention. Cases of journalists, including women journalists, subjected to ill-treatment while in Israeli detention, including sexual and gender-based violence, have been well documented.

“Detention of journalists, along with reports of torture and ill-treatment and violation of due process in the context of an occupation that the International Court of Justice just declared unlawful, raise serious concerns regarding the punitive nature of such deprivation of liberty, and the right of journalists to tell the world about the assault on the Palestinian people’s self-determination, continued dispossession, forced displacement and oppression,” the experts said.

They were concerned that not a single case of a journalist killed, injured or harassed in the occupied Palestinian Territory has ever been transparently investigated or the suspected perpetrators brought to justice by Israeli authorities. Even the emblematic killing of Shireen Abu Akhleh in 2022 remains unresolved despite clear evidence of Israeli forces’ culpability.

“As long as Israel remains an occupying power, it is obliged to respect the work of journalists and media workers in the occupied Palestinian Territory, and to ensure their safety, in accordance with international humanitarian and human rights law,” the experts said.

As recalled by the International Court of Justice, Israel’s excessive use of force against Palestinians contributes to the illegal nature of its occupation and is inconsistent with its obligations under the Hague Regulations, the Fourth Geneva Convention, and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

“Both the International Court of Justice and the International Criminal Court are encouraged to consider the widespread and systematic attack on journalists and media workers as part of their ongoing investigations,” the experts said.

“The genocide in Gaza has overshadowed the distress of journalists in the West Bank, but this recent escalation makes it imperative that the international community pay more heed to what is happening in the West Bank and strongly denounce Israel’s actions.”

The experts are in contact with the Government of Israel on this issue.