NUJ strongly condemns IDF accusations against Al Jazeera journalists
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) has accused six Palestinian Al Jazeera journalists of being operatives in terror groups. In a post published on X on 23 October, the IDF labelled the journalists "Hamas and Islamic Jihad terrorists."
The Al Jazeera Media Network has condemned the claims, stating it "categorically rejects the Israeli occupation forces' portrayal of journalists as terrorists and denounces their use of fabricated evidence."
The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) and the Palestinian Journalists Syndicate has condemned Israel's stretegy of slandering Gaza's journalists, recognising threats posed to their lives by such accusations.
Michelle Stanistreet, NUJ general secretary, said:
“These allegations, levied without foundation, directly threaten the safety of Palestinian journalists and persist in a pattern of attempts to criminalise reporting. At the same time as attacking Palestinian journalists, Israel continues to ignore repeated calls by the international community of journalists to allow foreign media into Gaza.
“At least 130 Palestinian journalists have been killed since the outbreak of war - the continued bravery of media workers in Gaza must be commended. They certainly should not be placed at further risk through accusations of terrorism and unfounded slurs.”
Anthony Bellanger, IFJ general secretary, said:
“These allegations put the lives of our six colleagues in serious danger and make media professionals a target of attacks. We strongly condemn unproven allegations by the IDF, which are even more disturbing given the terrible number of journalists in Gaza that have already been killed, and the widespread belief among media workers that they are being targeted. We reiterate that international technology platforms that publish these allegations and hateful messages must take appropriate measures to remove it.”