Jeddah, 21 February 2024
In preparation for the Extraordinary Session of the Islamic Conference of Information Ministers scheduled to be held in Istanbul, Republic of Türkiye, on 24 February 2024, the OIC Observatory for Israeli Crimes and Violations against Palestinians stressed the need to address the ongoing Israeli disinformation campaign as well as the continuing aggression of Israel, the occupying power, against Palestinian and foreign journalists and media in Palestine, especially in the Gaza Strip, as a means of concealing the truth about the crimes committed by Israel in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank.
The Observatory explained that the special Istanbul session, attended by the ministers responsible for information and communication in the OIC Member States, will discuss joint efforts to confront disinformation campaigns carried out by Israel, the occupying power, against journalists in Palestine.
The OIC Observatory noted that journalists continue to face killings, harassment, and violence by the occupation forces while covering the ongoing Israeli genocide in the Gaza Strip and the entire occupied territory.
According to Palestinian media rights groups and Palestinian journalists, an increase in disinformation targeting reality has been observed in occupied Palestine, where Israel is actively spreading false information and propaganda to undermine the credibility and influence of Palestinian and other journalists. These tactics include spreading misleading narratives and fabricated stories and using social media platforms to amplify anti-Palestinian messages.
It is noteworthy that journalists wearing press identity cards were deliberately targeted and killed on dozens of occasions in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank by Israeli soldiers. In addition, the Israeli occupation destroys media offices and facilities, resulting in casualties among workers in this sector and civilians.
The Israeli occupation authorities have also launched propaganda and smear campaigns against Palestinian journalists and media outlets, using charges of incitement or belonging to armed groups as pretexts to justify their crimes against them or limit the movement of Palestinian journalists.
In addition, Palestinian journalists and media outlets face cyberattacks and surveillance carried out by Israeli intelligence services.
Therefore, the OIC Observatory expressed its joining with others in calling on social and digital media platforms to put an end to the misinformation, dehumanization of Palestinians, and the silencing of their voices on their platforms.
During more than four months of Israeli aggression, more than 100 journalists were killed in Gaza. The journalists who survived these events over the period live in inhumane conditions and suffer from a lack of subsistence requirements, like other residents of the Gaza Strip.
Considering this painful reality, Palestinian correspondents in Gaza show indescribable courage in continuing to report on the genocidal war waged by the Israeli occupation against the Palestinian people, many of whom lost their loved ones in bombing operations, and others live in tents without electricity, and with scarcity of food and water. Meanwhile, injured journalists do not receive adequate medical care to barely bandage their wounds.