Israel’s Supreme Court is set to hear on Thursday a petition filed by an organisation representing international media outlets in Israel and the Palestinian territories, demanding independent access for journalists to Gaza.
Since the Gaza war began in October 2023, Israeli authorities have prevented foreign journalists from entering the devastated territory, taking only a handful of reporters inside on tightly controlled visits alongside its troops.
On Thursday, Israel’s top court will hear a petition filed by the Foreign Press Association (FPA) seeking access to Gaza.
“For over two years, Israel has blocked foreign reporters from going into the territory, greatly hindering the media’s ability to cover this devastating conflict,” the FPA said in a statement on Wednesday ahead of the hearing, scheduled for 09:00 am (0600 GMT) on Thursday.
“We are pleased to finally have our day in court and hope the justices will swiftly approve our request to enter Gaza,” Tania Kraemer, chairperson of the FPA, said in the statement.
“It is high time for Israel to lift the closure and let us do our work alongside our Palestinian colleagues.”
The FPA, which represents hundreds of foreign journalists, began petitioning for independent access to Gaza soon after the war broke out in October 2023 following Hamas’s unprecedented cross-border attack on Israel. But these demands have been repeatedly ignored by Israeli authorities.
An AFP journalist sits on the FPA’s board of directors.
Media watchdog Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has joined the petition filed by the FPA.
While Israel has prevented foreign reporters from entering Gaza, its forces have killed more than 210 Palestinian journalists in the territory, Antoine Bernard, RSF’s director for advocacy and assistance, said on Tuesday.
“The result is an unprecedented violation of press freedom and the public’s right to reliable, independent, and pluralistic media reporting,” Bernard said.
“The Supreme Court has the opportunity to finally uphold basic democratic principles in the face of widespread propaganda, disinformation, and censorship, and to end two years of meticulous and unrestrained destruction of journalism in and about Gaza.
“No excuse, no restriction can justify not opening Gaza to international, Israeli and Palestinian media,” he said.
On October 10, Israel declared a ceasefire and started pulling back troops from some areas of the territory, as part of US President Donald Trump’s 20-point plan to end the war.
