Originally posted to The Middle East Monitor website, 18 May 2021
Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has called on the International Criminal Court (ICC) to include Israeli airstrikes on more than 20 media outlets in the Gaza Strip in its investigation into the situation in the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip.
In a statement released on Sunday, RSF said: “Targeted Israeli airforce attacks have destroyed the premises of 23 Palestinian and international media outlets in the past week. The latest airstrikes destroyed the bureaux of the US news agency, the Associated Press, and the Qatari TV broadcaster Al Jazeera.”
“Deliberately targeting media outlets constitutes a war crime,” RSF Secretary-General Christophe Deloire said. “By intentionally destroying media outlets, the Israel Defence Forces are … obstructing media coverage of a conflict that directly affects the civilian population.”
“We call on the International Criminal Court’s prosecutor to determine whether these airstrikes constitute war crimes,” Deloire added.
Israel is ranked 86th out of 180 countries in RSF’s 2021 World Press Freedom Index.
Link to the original post: https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20210518-icc-must-include-israels-bombing-of-gaza-media-offices-in-war-crimes-probe-rights-group-says/
