If physical access is an important requirement for good journalism, the ability of Palestinians and Israelis to cover their ongoing conflict is largely compromised. This is one of the issues raised by a delegation of the International Press Institute (IPI) that visited Palestine and Israel in February.
The mission sponsored by the Vienna-based nongovernmental organization produced “Patriotism, Pressure and Press Freedom: How Israeli and Palestinian Media Cover the Conflict from Inside,” a 37-page report based on interviews with more than 50 media practitioners in Gaza, the West Bank and Israel. The report focuses initially on how local media covered the November 2012 Israeli war on Gaza, but a closer look at the report’s recommendations zooms in on restrictions on journalists' freedom of movement as the biggest problem facing members of the Palestinian and Israeli press.
It is not unusual that during times of war or intense violence, such as the eight-day Gaza campaign in 2012, journalists become susceptible to wrapping themselves in their national flag. The Palestinian and Israeli journalists interviewed by the IPI delegation made no qualms about being subjective during those days. The report also states, however, that the media is not just biased, but that hate speech, incitement to violence and racism exist in abundance in major media outlets. For example, one Israeli radio broadcast reportedly told listeners not to worry, because an incoming rocket from Gaza had fallen on an Arab village, presumably instead of on an Israeli Jewish area. In another instance, a Palestinian reporter revealed that he had been told by a Gaza radio station that it saw itself as “jihad media.”
The violence in Gaza brought to light a few other serious media violations. The Israeli air force killed three Palestinian journalists and shelled television studios. No clear justifications were offered although media reports quoted Israeli officials asserting that the journalists and the outlets had somehow been used to direct acts of “terrorism.” No proof was provided, and a thorough investigation has been promised, but no findings have yet been made public. In another violation, Israeli engineers hijacked Palestinian radio and TV frequencies and broadcast messages over these frequencies, which caused confusion among the Palestinian public.
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