Hundreds of journalists wrote to Blinken: The United States should impose an arms embargo on Israel
2024-08-17
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According to a report by the British media "Middle East Eye" on the 15th, more than 100 journalists sent a joint letter to US Secretary of State Blinken on the same day, calling on the US government to ban the supply of weapons to Israel on the grounds that these weapons are being used to kill journalists in the Gaza Strip. The report mentioned that on July 31, Al Jazeera reporter Ismail Al Ghur and photographer Rami Rifi were killed in an Israeli bombing.
US Secretary of State Blinken Source: Visual China
The letter stated that since the outbreak of the current round of Israeli-Palestinian conflict in October last year, "Israel has killed more than 160 Palestinian journalists. This is the highest number of journalists killed in any war on record. Israel's indiscriminate bombing of the densely populated Gaza Strip means that no civilians are safe, but there are also reports that Israel is deliberately targeting journalists. Without US weapons, US military aid and US diplomatic support, Israel would not be able to carry out such military operations. By providing weapons used to deliberately kill journalists, you are complicit in one of the most serious violations of press freedom today."
"We call on you to do more to protect journalists and to demonstrate your strong support for a free and independent media by supporting an arms embargo on Israel," the letter reads, listing some of the practices the Israeli government has been accused of targeting journalists, including "continued suppression of media outlets that report truthfully on how the Israeli army treats Palestinians and its military operations in the Gaza Strip," such as closing Al Jazeera's branch in Israel, raiding its offices and confiscating equipment.
The letter mentioned that five UN special investigators had issued a joint statement saying that there were reports that journalists were attacked despite wearing jackets and helmets with media logos or riding in vehicles marked with media logos, "which seems to indicate that killing, injuring and detention are a strategy adopted by the Israeli army to deliberately obstruct the news media and suppress critical reporting."
"By providing Israel with weapons that kill journalists, the U.S. State Department is fueling Israel's violent crackdown on the press." The letter pointed out that international law stipulates that intentional attacks on journalists are war crimes, and U.S. domestic law also prohibits the U.S. State Department from providing assistance to foreign security forces that are credibly accused of serious human rights violations. "The United States is providing weapons to Israel, and Israel continues to use these weapons to attack Palestinian journalists in Gaza. This violates international law and U.S. domestic law. We urge you to immediately stop all weapons shipments to Israel," the joint letter said.
The report pointed out that 113 journalists, 7 press freedom organizations and 20 news media organizations signed the letter, and Middle East Eye was one of them. In addition to causing casualties among journalists, Israel's attacks in the Gaza Strip have killed medical workers, staff of UN aid agencies and other foreign aid workers.#Deep Good Articles Project#
