2024-01-19T13:17:38+00:00
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/ A report by the International Committee of Journalists revealed that Israel has joined the list of the worst countries in arbitrarily arresting journalists since the beginning of the Gaza War on October 7, 2023, with Iran sharing the same rank.
A report by the Committee to Protect Journalists issued yesterday, Thursday, stated that for the first time Israel appears on its list of “the worst jailers of journalists,” which puts it on an equal footing with Iran.
China and Myanmar were the worst offenders, according to the report, with each imprisoning more than 40 journalists in 2023, followed by Belarus, Russia and Vietnam.
Israel ranks sixth with Iran after the Committee to Protect Journalists recorded the presence of 17 Palestinian journalists in its prisons during the month of December 2023, which is the first time that Israel appears among the worst violators.
Judy Ginsburg, CEO of the Committee to Protect Journalists, said that Israel’s inclusion in the list of detained journalists “reflects a broader campaign of repression against freedom of expression and criticism of the war in Gaza.”
She added, “Israel’s standing in the Committee to Protect Journalists’ 2023 prison census is evidence that one of the most basic democratic standards – freedom of the press – is disappearing. As Israel exploits harsh methods to silence Palestinian journalists, this practice must stop.”
The arrests form part of a broader pattern of risks to journalists covering the war between Israel and Gaza.
The Committee to Protect Journalists says at least 83 media workers were killed in Gaza, most of them Palestinians.
The Committee to Protect Journalists said it also documented multiple types of incidents targeting journalists in Israel and Palestine, including “numerous assaults, threats, cyberattacks, and censorship.”