The International Press Institute (IPI) today joined press freedom and journalist organizations in writing to the governments of Czech Republic, Germany, and Italy urging them to support a partial or full suspension of the EU-Israel Association Agreement in order to protect journalists in Gaza and to advance access to independent reporting.
The signing of the joint letters comes after IPI previously joined human rights organizations in calling on the EU to take more decisive action against Israel for the escalating violence and targeted killings of journalists in Gaza, including the suspension of the EU-Israel Association Agreement and the imposition of targeted sanctions on responsible Israeli officials.
The letters, which were sent to the executive bodies and relevant ministries of the three EU Member States, stressed that Israel is engaging in the deadliest and most deliberate effort to kill and silence journalists that press freedom organizations have ever documented.
The letters stated: “Palestinian journalists are being threatened, directly targeted and murdered by Israeli forces, and are arbitrarily detained and tortured in retaliation for their work. Media infrastructure in Gaza is systematically destroyed, and censorship has been tightened throughout the West Bank, Jerusalem and Israel. Israel has also taken the unprecedented step of refusing international media independent access to Gaza.
They continued: “European public opinion on Gaza is changing, in part as a result of the reporting from Palestinian journalists on the ground. Their journalism–the stories, the personal accounts, and the images–has been a testament to the horrors suffered by the Palestinian people. It is imperative that all EU Member States continue to support Palestinian journalists as they carry out their work, while also advocating for international media to have independent access to Gaza.”
EU Member States are increasingly in support of suspending certain trade-related provisions of the Association Agreement between the EU and Israel – which is now a formal proposal made by the European Commission.
The letters called for the three governments to immediately and publicly support for the partial or full suspension of the EU-Israel Association Agreement and encourage other EU Member States to follow suit.
They also called on the states to strengthen their calls on Israel to immediately allow the urgent delivery of food, clean water, and medical supplies to all journalists in Gaza through protected humanitarian corridors; to call on Israel to end the blockade on foreign press entry into Gaza; and to robustly demand the independent investigation and prosecution of those responsible for the starvation and killing of journalists.
The letters are signed by:
ARTICLE 19
Association of European Journalists in Belgium
Committee to Protect Journalists
European Centre for Press and Media Freedom
European Federation of Journalists
Free Press Unlimited
IFEX
Index on Censorship
International News Safety Institute (INSI)
International Press Institute (IPI)
Media Diversity Institute
Osservatorio Balcani e Caucaso Transeuropa (OBCT)
Ossigeno per l’infomazione, Ossigeno.info
Reporters Without Borders
South East Europe Media Organisation (SEEMO)
Spanish Federation of Associations of Journalists (FAPE)
The Daphne Caruana Galizia Foundation