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‘Deeply disappointed’: Israel court postpones Gaza media ban ruling
An international media association expressed disappointment after Israel’s Supreme Court again postponed ruling on a petition seeking free and independent media access to war-battered Gaza.
Since the outbreak of Israel’s bloody war on Gaza in October 2023, its government has barred foreign journalists from independently entering the blockaded territory.
“The Foreign Press Association is deeply disappointed that the Israeli Supreme Court has once again postponed ruling on our petition for free, independent press access to Gaza,” the FPA said in a statement.
“All the more concerning is that the court appears to have been swayed by the state’s classified security arguments, which were presented behind closed doors and without the presence of the FPA’s attorneys.
“This secretive process offers no opportunity for us to rebut these arguments and clears the way for the continued arbitrary and open-ended closure of Gaza to foreign journalists.”
The FPA said there were no security arguments that justify what it called Israel’s “blanket ban” on media access to Gaza.
Oxfam refuses to provide Israel with details of Palestinian staff in Gaza
Oxfam says it will not disclose the personal details of its Palestinian staff to Israel, citing its army’s deadly attacks in Gaza that have killed hundreds of aid workers.
As part of a crackdown on NGOs providing life-saving aid to Palestinians, Israel last year demanded that some of the charities working in Gaza, the occupied West Bank and occupied East Jerusalem hand over detailed information about their Palestinian and international staff, operations and funding.
On January 1, Israel withdrew the licences of 37 aid groups, including the Norwegian Refugee Council, International Rescue Committee and Oxfam, saying they failed to adhere to the new “security and transparency standards”.
But Oxfam has said it will not share data about its Palestinian employees.
Israel ‘must evacuate all settlers’ from occupied West Bank: UN
The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights has strongly denounced “state-backed settler violence” in the occupied West Bank, which it says is driving “forced displacement” in the territory.
“The law is clear here: Israel must end its unlawful presence in the occupied Palestinian territory, halt settlement expansion and evacuate all settlers,” said Ajith Sunghay, the head of the office in Palestine.
“Forcible transfer of Palestinians within the occupied West Bank is a war crime and may amount to a crime against humanity.
“Accountability must be ensured for past and ongoing violations of Palestinians’ rights under international law.”
