Honouring Palestinian Journalists

In light of Israel’s killing of five Al Jazeera journalists in Gaza, we reflect on the history and reality of journalism in Palestine and the heavy price journalists continue to pay to ensure that Palestinian voices are not silenced.

The story of Palestinian journalism reflects the insistence of the Palestinian people to recount their history, tell their stories, and understand their place in the world. Without the efforts of Palestinian reporters and media workers to this day, much of the reality of Palestinian life would remain hidden from the rest of the world.

Since the beginning of Israel’s genocidal assault on Gaza, Palestinian journalists have undertaken the most courageous and perilous commitments to their profession in modern history. Palestinian journalists have risked and often lost their lives to keep the world informed. In December 2023, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) said that the “war zone” in Gaza was the “most dangerous ever” for reporters.

Since October 2023, more than 200 journalists have been killed in Gaza amid Israel’s military offensive. As part of Israel’s wider effort to destroy the possibility of survival in the Gaza Strip and to shatter the population as a people, the targeting of journalists and media workers aims to break the flow of information, set an example and erode Gaza’s social infrastructure. This is why, early on in the assault, over 50 media premises were destroyed, amongst those targeted were, Press House Palestine: an independent, non-profit media institution which served as a hub for journalists, providing workspace internet access, and safety gear, AFP Gaza Bureau, whose offices were struck during air raids and rendered inoperable. Offices of Al Ayyam, Gaza FM, Shebab Agency and Ma’an were also hit and demolished during airstrikes.

With newsrooms and media offices reduced to rubble, journalists have been forced to work without stable bases. It’s easy to forget that while facing the daily struggle to survive, they continue their reporting under the harshest conditions. They work while hungry, malnourished, exhausted, live in makeshift tents and are constantly forced to relocate, move and safeguard fragile equipment under fire, endure communications blackouts and a lack of electricity all while grieving the deaths of friends and family members to Israel’s relentless bombing. Meanwhile, in the West Bank, journalists have also faced ongoing attempts to silence them.

Since October 2023:

• At least 140 journalists have been arrested or imprisoned
• Broadcasting network, Al Jazeera’s office, in Ramallah was shut down following a mass raid
• Israel also decided to revoke the press credentials of Al Jazeera journalists in the country
• Radio stations were forced to close
• Homes of journalists were raided and ransacked by Israeli forces
• Equipment and vehicles of journalists vandalised
• Journalists have been attacked by settlers under the protection of Israeli forces

Israel’s attack on journalism does not stop at its borders. In October 2024, an Israeli airstrike struck Hasbaiyya in south Lebanon killing three journalists. The targeting and killing of Palestinian journalists has been a consistent feature of Israel’s settler colonial regime.

During the First and Second Intifadas, and in the years that followed, journalists were systematically targeted. Between 2000 and 2022, at least 30 journalists were killed by Israeli forces, including:

• 2003: Cameraman Nazeh Dawarzeh killed in Nablus
• 2008: Fadel Shana’a killed by an Israeli tank in Gaza
• 2018-19: Palestinian journalists targeted during the Great March of Return in Gaza and 2 killed
• 2021: Palestine Center for Development and Media Freedoms (MADA) documented 368 Israeli violations against Palestinian journalists in that year alone
• 2022: Killing of Al-Jazeera journalist, Shireen Abu Akleh in Jenin, receiving global attention and condemnation

This sustained assault on journalism reflects the broader aim of Israel’s settler colonial project: to eradicate the ability of an oppressed people to record the violence committed against them. Yet, Palestinian journalists continue their work, ensuring that the world witnesses their realities, making them impossible to bury.

At Makan, we honour the courage, sacrifice, and commitment of Palestinian journalists. We invite you to read and share our resources to amplify their voices and stand in solidarity with the ongoing fight for justice and liberation.