2019 declared the second-worst year for journalism in Palestine
Occupied Palestine (QNN)- The Government Information Bureau in Gaza announced on Tuesday this year as the second-worst for journalism in Palestine with 557 Israeli violations against journalists.
The spokesperson for the bureau, Salama Ma’arouf, said in a press conference that 2019 is the second-worst year for journalism in Palestine after 2018 in terms of the quantity and types of violations.
87 journalists were reportedly attacked in Gaza, while 67 others were attacked in the occupied West Bank during 2019. 21 journalists in Gaza were shot with live bullets, according to the bureau.
The bureau also said that last May witnessed the highest number of Israeli violations against journalists and media institutions, which were covering marches and demonstrations that were organized throughout Palestine remembering the Nakbah.
In May, 33 journalists were suffocated, 9 were burnt or had fractures, and nearly 24 were wounded with rubber-coated metal bullets.
This year also saw 100 arrests against journalists over social media posts, according to the bureau. Meanwhile, 18 journalists are still held in Israeli jails and 30 others were subjected to torture and blackmail. Furthermore, excessive fines were imposed on them.
The bureau also reported that the Israelis carried out approximately 30 raids into media institutions, journalists’ houses, cultural offices, and printing presses. In most cases, they were confiscating or damaging equipment.
60 cases of obstructing journalists’ work by the Israelis were reported. In 156 cases, the Israeli army threatened media institutions of closure and incited violence against them, according to AA.
The bureau also has documented 27 travel ban and equipment confiscation cases, which aimed to prevent them from performing their job.
