Israel Commits 476 Violations Against Palestinian Journalists in 2020

Caption: Israeli soldiers throw smoke grenades at a group of people including journalists during an annual demonstration in memory of the 1994 Ibrahimi Mosque massacre, in Hebron, on 22 February 2019. [HAZEM BADER/AFP]
Caption: Israeli soldiers throw smoke grenades at a group of people including journalists during an annual demonstration in memory of the 1994 Ibrahimi Mosque massacre, in Hebron, on 22 February 2019. [HAZEM BADER/AFP]
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Israel Commits 476 Violations Against Palestinian Journalists in 2020

Caption: Israeli soldiers throw smoke grenades at a group of people including journalists during an annual demonstration in memory of the 1994 Ibrahimi Mosque massacre, in Hebron, on 22 February 2019. [HAZEM BADER/AFP]
Caption: Israeli soldiers throw smoke grenades at a group of people including journalists during an annual demonstration in memory of the 1994 Ibrahimi Mosque massacre, in Hebron, on 22 February 2019. [HAZEM BADER/AFP]

The Journalist Support Committee in Palestine documented in its 2020 annual report an increase in Israeli’s assault against freedoms in the occupied Palestinian territories.

According to the report, at least 476 violations of the right to freedom of the press were committed by Israel this year, while 127 violations were committed by Palestinian parties.

This includes crimes of violating the right to life and personal safety of journalists, and beating, violating, and insulting them.

It also highlighted Israeli forces excessive targeting of Palestinian journalists and their deliberate firing of live rubber-coated metal bullets and poisonous gas canisters to keep journalists away from scenes where Israeli forces commit crimes against citizens.

According to the Committee, the Israeli forces continued to raid journalists' homes and media offices, confiscating their equipment, preventing them from covering and traveling, arresting and detaining them, imposing financial fines on a number of them, and deporting others under conditions that restrict their freedom of movement, work, and expression.

The report cited the case of journalist Widad al-Barghouti, who was arrested after Israeli forces raided and searched her home in the village of Kobar, northwest of Ramallah.

The report further called on the United Nations and the countries of the whole world to exercise their moral and legal role in deterring the occupying state inhuman practices against the Palestinian people and journalists, and to provide them with the necessary protection to fulfill their professional, national, and humanitarian role.

Also, the report urged international press institutions to disclose the Israeli practices towards Palestinian journalists on the widest scale, to pressure on the Israeli occupation to stop these violations, and to preserve freedom of journalistic work.



Israel Announces New Strikes Against Yemen’s Houthis

Israel Announces New Strikes Against Yemen’s Houthis
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Israel Announces New Strikes Against Yemen’s Houthis

Israel Announces New Strikes Against Yemen’s Houthis

Houthi militias in Yemen said Israeli airstrikes on Thursday targeted Sanaa and the port city of Hodeidah, following several days of Houthi launches setting off sirens in Israel.

The Israeli military said it attacked infrastructure used by the Houthis at the international airport in Sanaa and ports at Hodeidah, Al-Salif and Ras Qantib along with Hezyaz and Ras Kanatib power stations. It came a day after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that “the Houthis, too, will learn what Hamas and Hezbollah and Assad’s regime and others learned.”

Netanyahu monitored the new strikes along with military leaders, his government said. The Iran-backed Houthis' media outlet confirmed the strikes in a Telegram post but gave no immediate details. The US military also has targeted the Houthis in Yemen in recent days.

Over the weekend, 16 people were wounded when a Houthi missile hit a playground in Tel Aviv. Last week, Israeli jets struck Sanaa and Hodeidah, killing nine people, calling it a response to previous Houthi attacks. The Houthis also have been targeting shipping on the Red Sea corridor, calling it solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza.

Israel has instructed its diplomatic missions in Europe to try to get the Houthis designated as a terrorist organisation.
The UN Security Council is due to meet on Monday over Houthi attacks against Israel, Israel's UN Ambassador Danny Danon said on Wednesday.