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Palestinian journalist’s killing spurs international condemnation

The killing of Palestinian journalist Yasser Murtaja by Israeli soldiers has been widely condemned by Israeli and international press institutions and underscores Israel's refusal to recognize the legitimacy of Palestinian journalists as professionals.
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The decision by the Union of Journalists in Israel, chaired by Yair Tarchitsky, to send Israel Defense Forces (IDF) Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Gadi Eizenkot a letter regarding the death of a Palestinian journalist is not, by most accounts, a big deal. Nevertheless, the April 7 letter, which Tarchitsky delivered to Eizenkot, has been welcomed in Palestinian media. It was prominently featured by the widely read Maan News on April 7.

The union’s spokesperson, Noah Zlotnik, provided Al-Monitor with a copy of the letter in Hebrew, in which the syndicate requests that the army investigate the killing of Yasser Murtaja, by Israeli soldiers. He was shot on April 6 and died the following day. “We are convinced that the IDF share democratic values, including the importance of freedom of the press,” the letter reads.

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