Gaza _ Palestine News Network
Since the beginning of the year, two Palestinian journalists have been killed and 254 others injured, mostly from the Gaza Strip, while 82 journalists have been arrested from the occupied West Bank.
This was made in a special report of the Palestinian Journalists Support Committee (CPJ) released on Tuesday on the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian journalist, which falls on the 26th of September September each year.
In its report, which monitors Israeli violations against Palestinian journalists, the committee has documented some 638 Israeli violations against Palestinian journalists since the beginning of this year.
The Israeli army killed journalists Yasser Murtagah and Ahmed Abu Hussein in April last April, while covering the eastern Gaza Strip´s return marches.
Last May May the highest rate of Israeli violations against journalists, with 129 violations, the majority of which were concentrated in the Gaza Strip, through the firing of live bullets and explosive and poisonous bombs towards them during the activities of the return march on the eastern border of the sector.
The report stated that the violations consisted of arrest, detention, extension of detention, direct assault with the purpose of inflicting the greatest harm on them, as well as travel and media coverage.
The report also recorded the occupation of press and media institutions and the destruction and destruction of its contents, amounting to 49 cases.
Saleh al-Masri, coordinator of the Committee to Support journalists, said, "the Israeli occupation continues to target media freedoms by increasing its attacks against Palestinian journalists without any deterrent international pressure on its crimes and continuing violations and breaching all International and human rights conventions that promote freedom of expression.
"The occupation used excessive force without regard to the principles of distinction and proportionality, and was not justified by any military necessity, citing flimsy arguments under the name of incitement."
The International Federation of Palestinian Journalists (IFJ) adopted a day of solidarity with Palestinian journalists at its 1998 regular meeting on the 26th of September every year, with some 60 Palestinian journalists injured on this day in 1996 during their coverage of the "tunnel donation" that erupted Then.
