Karim Khan, chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC), met with Nasser Abu Baker, president of the Palestinian Journalists Syndicate (PJS) in Ramallah on 2 December 2023.
The IFJ Executive Committee met via zoom on November 28-29. What dominated the meeting, as has much of our work and thinking, is the current war in Gaza and the collective punishment being imposed on the more than 2.5 million workers and families living there for the criminal attack by Hamas on October 7. IFJ General Secretary Anthony Bellanger had just returned from meeting with the Palestinian Journalist Syndicate in Ramallah. He and PJS President Nasser Abubaker and gave the following report:
- More than 60 journalists and media workers killed
- 62 media outlets and offices destroyed
- 300 family members of journalists killed, many in their targeted homes
- 135 journalists wounded and injured
- 200 attacks against the media, 38 arrests in the West Bank and E. Jerusalem by the police, IDF and settlers
- 1200 journalists in Gaza are homeless
- Palestinian journalists’ social media accounts hacked and filled with death threats
- Many West Bank outlets can get no signals from their journalists in Gaza, they don’t know if they are dead or alive
- No one knows how many are buried under the rubble
- More journalists have been killed since Oct. 7 than in the past 23 years combined.
The situation is desperate, unprecedented and a nightmare. UNESCO has agreed to work with IFJ to try to set up a safe home in the South for journalists but so far, this has not been possible.
ACTIONS BY THE PSJ AND THE IFJ
The PJS organized solidarity with its 1,000 members in the Gaza Strip, distributing medical kits for first aid and recharging batteries for telephones and other electronic devices. At the beginning of November, the PJS asked the IFJ to launch a special ‘Palestine’ appeal from the IFJ International Security Fund. In just a few days, the IFJ raised more than €38,000, sent by the NUJ (National Union of Journalists UK/Ireland) and its Brussels and Paris branches(£20,000, €500, €500), Wan-IFRA (€3,500), Free Press Unlimited (€5,000), Tutkivan journalismin yhdistys (Finnish Association of Investigative Journalism – €5,000) as well as anonymous donors on the “donorbox” site (around €3,500). NWU contributed $10,000 to the fund and two major North American media unions matched our contribution.
We will continue to send funds to support our Palestinian sisters and brothers. Organizing a fund drive for individuals to contribute can raise a lot of money and it allows people to participate in an act of international solidarity.
You can contribute to the special appeal for PJS and the Palestinian media workers on the ground in Gaza and Ramallah here: bit.ly/ifjsafetyfund
NWU is the sole provider of IFJ Press Passes to freelance journalists in the U.S.