Israel violates international law in Gaza daily: Norwegian charity chief
Jan Egeland, secretary-general of the Norwegian Refugee Council, has told our colleagues at Al Jazeera Arabic that his charity expects Norwegian investments to be withdrawn from Israeli companies that contribute to Israeli international law violations in Gaza and the occupied West Bank.
Here are some of the other points he made:
- Opening the land crossings and allowing the large-scale entry of aid is the only solution to address famine in Gaza.
- An immediate ceasefire must be achieved in Gaza and unhindered access for aid.
- Israel cannot be allowed to control everything that reaches civilians in the Gaza Strip.
- The extremists in the Israeli government are linked to criminal settler organisations that seek to plunder Palestinian land.
Hamas backs ‘Freedom to Report’ initiative calling for access to Gaza for foreign journalists
Senior Hamas official Izzat al-Risheq says the armed group “appreciate the ‘Freedom to Report’ initiative launched by 200 prominent journalists from around the world, in which they demanded immediate and uncensored access for foreign journalists to the Gaza Strip”.
The initiative started by photographer Andre Liohn has started a petition, in which it states that what is happening in Gaza is “not just a humanitarian blackout, it is an information blackout that undermines the public’s right to know and journalism’s democratic function to hold power accountable”.
It calls Israel’s strategy in Gaza as coming from the “very playbook of authoritarianism: Control the narrative, silence independent voices, and sever the link between reality and public understanding”.
In a statement published on Telegram, al-Risheq said Hamas “affirms that the occupation’s policy of preventing foreign journalists from entering Gaza represents a clear violation of press freedom and a prevention of conveying the truth to international public opinion. It reveals its fear of exposing its aggression and terrorism.”
The Israeli military has killed more than 200 reporters and media workers since its bombardment of Gaza began, including several Al Jazeera journalists and their relatives.
