The Government Information Bureau in Gaza announced, on Tuesday, that this year was the second-worst year for journalism in Palestine, with 557 Israeli violations against journalists, according to Quds News Network.
The spokesperson for the bureau, Salama Ma’arouf, said in a press conference that 2019 has been the second-worst year for journalism in Palestine, after 2018 in terms of the quantity and types of violations.
The bureau stated that 87 journalists were reportedly attacked and 21 were shot with live bullets, in Gaza, while 67 other journalists were attacked in the occupied West Bank during 2019.
The Information Bureau added that May of 2018 saw the highest number of Israeli violations against journalists and media institutions, which were covering marches and demonstrations organized throughout Palestine remembering the Palestinian Nakba or catastrophe, of 1948.
During the May, 2018 marches, Israeli forces caused 33 journalists to suffocate from tear-gas, caused 9 to suffer from burns, or fractures, and shot 24 journalists with rubber-coated metal bullets.
The bureau confirmed that in 2019, 100 journalists were arrested over social media posts. 18 journalists are still held in Israeli jails while 30 more were subject to torture and blackmail. It added that Israeli forces imposed excessive fines on media personnel.
It was also reported that the Israelis carried out approximately 30 raids into media institutions, journalists’ houses, cultural offices, and printing presses, in most cases, confiscating and/or damaging equipment.
The bureau also has documented 27 travel bans and equipment confiscation cases, which aimed to prevent journalists from performing their job, exposing Israeli actions.
Edited for IMEMC: Ali Salam
