Given the recent injury of a journalist in Palestine, the Minister of Information, Riyad al-Malki, put pressure on the president of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) to apply resolution #2222 for “attacks against Palestinian journalists in the Occupied territories”.
Al-Malki, said “Israel started the new year, 2019, by shooting at point blank at Palestine TV crew”, referring to Thursday’s incident, in the northern West Bank city of Nablus, which resulted in a Palestine TV correspondent, Bakr Abdul Haq, being shot by Israeli forces, in the leg, with a rubber-coated steel bullet, reported WAFA News Agency.
The UNSC resolution #2222, adopted in 2015, affirms the Security Council’s responsibility to “maintain international peace and security” including the “protection of journalists, media professionals and associated personnel in armed conflicts”.
Al-Malki also spoke of the raids on “media institutions in the occupied territories, including the official WAFA news agency headquarters in Ramallah” and the fact that there are still 19 journalists being held in Israeli prison.
The Minister of Information appealed to the UNSC to “enforce the text” of UNSC resolution #2222, and to “hold Israel accountable for its actions against Palestinian journalists.”
2018 was a very dangerous year for journalists, with 2 deaths, including Yasser Murtaja and Ahmad Abu Hussein, while covering the Great March of Return in Gaza. 278 others are said to have been wounded, according to a study conducted by WAFA.
According to the WAFA study, the 278 journalists were injured with rubber-coated steel bullets, tear gas inhalation, by physical assault by Israeli forces, among others, throughout Palestine.
