H.E. Ariel Sharon
Prime Minister
3 Kaplan Street
Kiryat Ben-Gurion
Jerusalem
Israel

Fax: (+ 972-2) 513 950

Vienna, 2 July 2004

Your Excellency,

The International Press Institute (IPI), the global network of editors, media executives and leading journalists in over 120 countries, condemns the recent missile attack by Israeli armed forces on a building housing media organisations.

According to information provided to IPI, during the night of 28 June, an Israeli helicopter gunship fired missiles into a building in Gaza used by several local and international news organisations including, Al-Jazeera, ARD, BBC, CNN and NBC. During the attack, two employees from Ramattan Broadcast Services suffered minor injuries. Fortunately, other journalists working in the building, at the time of the attack, escaped injury.

The missiles were apparently fired into the third floor of the building, which fronts Al-Whida Street, where the Al-Jeel Press Office is housed. Supplying news to other news outlets in the region, the organisation is run by freelance journalist Mustafa al-Sawaf. Another news organisation, the weekly magazine Al-Saada, which is allegedly connected to the terrorist and radical political group Hamas, had previously shared the floor with the Al-Jeel Press Office, but had left the premises to move to another building. The attack came two days after Hamas claimed responsibility for a rocket attack on the Israeli town of Sederot that killed two people.

Seeking to justify the attack, the Israeli armed forces said on its Website that the building had been targeted because the Hamas organisation used it to distribute “incitement material,” as well as communicate with terrorists. The Website also claimed that Hamas used the building to publicly announce its involvement in terrorist attacks.

With regard to the actions of the Israeli armed forces, IPI believes that it was an indiscriminate act taken without due regard or concern for possible civilian casualties. Moreover, the attack will only serve to further weaken the important distinction between civilian and military activities during periods of conflict. By blurring this important divide, the Israeli armed forces are not only undermining the ability of the media to report in conflict zones, but also making it much more likely that news facilities will face increased targeting.

At a time when journalists are facing deliberate targeting in other countries in the Middle East, the actions of the Israeli armed forces will confirm the views of those who believe that silencing the media is a crucial aim in any conflict. The inevitable result will be increased attacks on journalists and, as a consequence, a greater risk to their lives.

Significantly, the recent attack is only one of a series carried out by the Israeli armed forces on media outlets and civil society organisations. In May, helicopter gunships fired on the Palestinian Center for Human Rights, the Al-Aqsa broadcasting station and the weekly al-Resala newspaper. On 19 January 2002, Israeli soldiers stormed the headquarters of the Palestinian Broadcasting Agency, which also housed the Voice of Palestine. Forcing all staff to leave the premises, the soldiers then proceeded to destroy the building using explosives and bulldozers. In October 2000, helicopter gunships fired missiles on the same building forcing the Voice of Palestine off the air.

Concerning the legal ramifications of the attack, IPI believes that the acts of the Israeli armed forces have breached international humanitarian law. In particular, the failure to provide overwhelming evidence that the building was being used for military purposes, together with the use of indiscriminate missiles against civilians, shows that the attack was planned and conceived with a reckless disregard for lives.

In view of the above, IPI calls on the Israeli government to issue clear guidelines to the Israeli armed forces, in accordance with international humanitarian law, clearly stating: first, that the media have a fundamental right to report freely and without fear of being targeted and, second, that media outlets are civilian facilities and as such are exempt from attack.

We thank you for your attention.

Yours sincerely,

Johann P. Fritz
Director