Israel Has Turned Palestine Into the World’s Largest Graveyard for Journalists
Journalists killed by the Israeli occupation forces. 2024. X/ @Spring02060527
December 12, 2024 Hour: 9:28 am
‘We’ve demanded the crimes committed against journalists be included as war crimes,’ Reporters Without Borders stated.
On Wednesday, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) published its 2024 report revealing that Palestine has become the country where the most journalists have been killed, as Israeli occupation forces have murdered 39 journalists since 2019.
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“Palestine is the most dangerous country for journalists, recording a higher death toll than any other country over the past five years,” RSF stated, noting that Palestine is confirmed for the second consecutive year as the most dangerous country for journalism, ahead of Pakistan (7), Bangladesh (5), and Mexico (5).
Since October 2023, at least 155 Palestinian and Lebanese journalists have been killed by Israeli occupation forces. Forty of them were killed for reporting on the Israeli offensive against Gaza, while the rest were incidental victims.
“We have demanded that the crimes committed against journalists be included as war crimes in the ongoing investigation in Palestine,” stated RSF, a France-based NGO that has filed four complaints with the International Criminal Court against Israel for war crimes.
Israel has also become the “third-largest prison for journalists in the world,” following China and Myanmar, RSF spokesperson Elena Garcia said.
So far this year, 54 journalists have been killed worldwide. Asia has become the second deadliest region in the world after the Middle East, with Pakistan (7) and Bangladesh (5) leading. In Latin America, the countries with the highest number of journalist killings are Mexico (5), Colombia (2), and Honduras (1).
Globally, 57% of journalists killed were victims of armed conflict, while others died due to local political issues (8), organized crime (7), or suppression of protests (5).
Over the past year, journalist detentions have risen to 550, an increase of 7.2% compared to 2023. RSF also recorded two new cases of journalists taken hostage in 2024. Currently, 55 journalists remain hostages, 25 of whom were held by the Islamic State (ISIS).
Nearly 100 journalists are still missing. Thirty-nine of them disappeared in the Americas, with Mexico accounting for 30% of these cases. One reason for these disappearances is the impunity and fragility of mechanisms for protecting journalists, RSF stated, calling on Latin American states to strengthen legal frameworks that guarantee press freedom.
Since 1995, Reporters Without Borders has published an annual report compiling data from January 1 to December 1. The 2024 report includes professional and non-professional journalists as well as other media workers.
teleSUR/ JF Source: EFE
