JARUSALEM: Accepting the request of State Attorney, Israel’s Supreme Court Thursday adjourned the hearing of a petition wherein independent access for journalists to Gaza was sought.
The petition is filed by the Foreign Press Association (FPA), which represents international media outlets in Israel and the Palestinian territories.
Since the war in Gaza began in October 2023, Israeli authorities have barred foreign journalists from entering the devastated region, only allowing a handful of reporters to enter on tightly controlled visits alongside troops.
On Thursday, the court began hearing the FPA’s petition. The State Attorney acknowledged “the situation has changed” and asked for another 30 days to review the circumstances. No date has yet been set for the next hearing.
Ahead of the hearing, FPA Chairperson Tania Kraemer said, “we’ve been waiting really long for this day.” She added, “We hope to get into Gaza, that they open Gaza after this long blockade, and we are hoping to get in there to work alongside our Palestinian colleagues.”
The FPA began seeking independent access to Gaza soon after the war broke out in October 2023, following attacks by Hamas on Israel. But the Israeli authorities have repeatedly ignored those demands.
FPA board member Nicolas Rouget said outside the courtroom: “We have a right to inform the public, the people of the world, the Israeli public, the Palestinian population. We feel we must stand by them, by our Palestinian colleagues in Gaza, who have been the only ones able to inform the public about this conflict over the last two years.” Media watchdog Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has joined the petition. RSF advocacy director Antoine Bernard noted that while foreign journalists have been blocked from entering Gaza, Israeli forces have killed more than 210 Palestinian journalists in the territory. He called the situation “an unprecedented violation of press freedom and the public’s right to reliable, independent and pluralistic media reporting.”
