HRW: "Israeli" Assaults on Palestinian Media Unlawful

Local Editor

Human Rights Watch stated Thursday that "Israeli" army attacks on journalists and media facilities in the Gaza Strip during last month's military aggression violated the laws of war.

Two Palestinian cameramen were martyred and at least 10 media personnel were wounded in the offensive.
This comes as "Israel" claimed that "the targets were a legitimate military objective."
A statement released Thursday by the New York-based rights group said it found no indications that these targets were valid military objectives.
Sarah Leah Whitson, the Mideast director at HRW, confirmed that "just because "Israel" says a journalist was a fighter or a TV station was a command center does not make it so."

"Journalists who praise Hamas and TV stations that applaud attacks on "Israel" may be propagandists, but that does not make them legitimate targets under the laws of war," she added.
On November 20, "Israel" targeted a car on a Gaza City street with two cameramen from al-Aqsa TV, Mahmoud al-Kumi, and Hussam Salama, martying them both.

The deputy head of al-Aqsa TV, which is the official television station of the Hamas government in Gaza, told Human Rights Watch that al-Kumi and Salama were cameramen covering the conflict and were returning from filming in al-Shifa Hospital in a car marked "TV."


Source: HRW, Edited by moqawama.org