Palestinian journalists refuse to be silenced by Israel’s accusations and efforts to discredit them.
Alaa Salama, a correspondent for Al Jazeera Mubasher in the southern Gaza Strip, told the Palestinian Journalists Protection Center (PJPC): “As journalists, we will not hide from sight. We will carry out our work, and these false accusations and campaigns of fabrication, defamation, and incitement will not deter us.”
Salama is one of six journalists the Israeli army alleged on Wednesday to be members of Hamas or Islamic Jihad.
“This is a false accusation and part of the ongoing incitement by the Israeli army’s media apparatus, consisting of fabrications by the occupation forces to portray those working with Al Jazeera as members of Palestinian factions,” Salama added.
“We are professionals, and our work is purely journalistic. Previously, it was radio, television, and print. Today, I work for Al Jazeera, and my contract with them is not coincidental; it is part of a professional journalism journey that has lasted 18 years,” he said.
Salama said the Israeli army was aiming to “create justifications and tools to carry out more assassinations and targeting of journalists and civilians to implement its plans, especially since Palestinian media has played a significant role in refuting the Israeli narrative and exposing its falsehoods.” He said Al Jazeera’s opposition to the Israeli narrative had made it a specific target.
Hossam Shabat, a correspondent for Al Jazeera Mubasher in northern Gaza, said he faces an intense incitement campaign and receives death constant threats from Israeli extremists.
“These false accusations are a clear threat of assassination and a transparent attempt to justify killing us in advance,” he said.
“When our colleague Ismail al-Ghoul was assassinated, the Israeli army released a document claiming that he (al-Ghoul) had achieved a military rank on July 1, 2007, when he was a child of only ten.”
Shabat he would refuse to bend to what he saw as Israeli pressure to stop coverage: “My colleagues and I have pledged never to halt our professional coverage of one of the most severe genocides in modern history.”
Journalist Talal Al-Arouqi told PJPC he has worked as a journalist since 2016 and with various local media outlets. He was injured by Israeli gunfire in his leg during the March of Return protests, causing a permanent disability.
Al-Arouqi said that the Israeli army’s claims that he joined Hamas’ military wing in 2008 were false. He was 15 years old in 2008.
The accusations came after Al-Arouqi and his colleagues reported on atrocities committed by Israel in northern Gaza, he said.
The Palestinian Journalists Protection Center warns that these dangerous allegations could serve as a pretext for targeting journalists. Israel has reportedly killed 176 journalists and media professionals in Gaza since the start of the conflict.
