JOURNALISTS IN THE SPOTLIGHT

Since the state of Israel was created in 1948, the relations of the Jewish entity with the international press have always been conflictive. From the presidency of the charismatic David Ben Gurion, to all those who followed him, foreign informants were always considered uncomfortable and undesirable witnesses.
There have never been good relations between both parties, because Israel always considered (and considers) “natural” that its theses and positions should be propagated by journalists, as if they owed a debt for a past full of convulsions.
In Gaza, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said it several times: Foreign correspondents will not be treated differently than the Palestinian civilian population. “Israel – Tsahal spokesmen have pointed out in Tel Aviv – has no obligation to protect the lives of foreign journalists.”
When the population in the north of the enclave was ordered to move south “to preserve their lives,” the order included, of course, the press envoys. Most of the latter moved to Khan Yunes, from where they broadcast their chronicles. But others refused to leave the capital and took the risk of bombing.
A correspondent for the 2Al Jazeera network, Youmna ElSayed, received two phone calls from Israel with just this phrase: “Go south or die.” The journalist remained in the capital, but the network decided that it would not show her videos but only her sound to protect her.
We have seen an image that made our spines cold. The envoy of the Arab channel Al Hadath was broadcasting his report shortly after the death, in a bombing, of a colleague, when, visibly upset, he took off his helmet and protective vest with the inscription “PRESS” and threw them down the street. floor. “This is of no use to us; We are on the next death list. Surely it would be useful to us in a conflict in Europe, but here, with Israel, it is of no use,” he shouted nervously and continued with the chronicle of him, in a T-shirt.
How many journalists have died in Gaza under Israeli bombs? According to the enclave government there are already 72; According to Reporters Without Borders (RSF) there would be 51. In reality, the number is the least important, what impacts those sent is knowing that they are “in the spotlight.”
Last Friday, three journalists from the Turkish news agency “Anadolu” died in the south of the enclave: Muntasir Al-Sawwl; his brother Marwan, and the cameraman Abullah Darwish. Having moved to Khan Yunes, in the south, was of no use to them, because now the Israeli aviation is bombing the south of Gaza with the same intensity as it does in the north.
The International Committee to Protect Journalists (ICC) counts 57 informants killed since October 7. To this figure we must add the deaths on Israel's border with Lebanon, which would be at least 5.
The difference with the way of acting, in conflicts, with Western armies is abysmal. The United States accepts embedded journalists who accompany its military forces so that everyone can observe it, without restrictions or censorship. Israel, it is not that it commits war crimes; It's that he does everything possible so that the press doesn't see them.