Take a look at the new installment of our press freedom round-up, recapping the latest attacks on journalists, their right to publish, and our right to know. Here’s the news for the week of September 15, 2024.
Israel kills another journalist in Gaza, raising death toll to 173
Another Palestinian journalist, Abdullah Shakshak, was killed in an Israeli air strike on the Gaza Strip, bringing the total number of media professionals killed since October 7, 2023 to 173.
Caitlin Vogus talks about the importance of the PRESS Act
In an interview with First Amendment Watch, Caitlin Vogus, Deputy Director of Advocacy at Freedom of the Press Foundation, discusses the PRESS Act, its proposed protections, and the urgency in getting the law passed before the upcoming election.
“It’s maybe the most important press freedom legislation in history, and the reason is because in the past decade, or maybe even a bit longer, we’ve really seen administrations from both parties that have increasingly spied on journalists and their sources in an attempt to stifle important reporting and prevent government transparency. And the PRESS Act would address that problem by protecting journalists from surveillance, or from being compelled to reveal their sources or newsgathering material, and as a result, it would make sources feel much more comfortable coming forward to talk to journalists, to blow the whistle, to share important information that informs the public.”
Israeli army raids Al Jazeera’s bureau in Ramallah, issues 45-day closure order
Al Jazeera reported that heavily armed and masked Israeli soldiers forcefully entered its bureau in Ramallah at 3am on Sunday and ordered everyone working the overnight shift at the bureau to leave, telling them they could take only their personal belongings. They handed the bureau head, Walid al-Omari, a notice to shut down operations.
Sunday’s raid comes after Israeli government banned Al Jazeera from operating inside Israel in May. The order came from the Israeli military authority despite the bureau being in Area A, an area delineated as being under Palestinian control in the Oslo Accords. Although the order is issued for 45 days, Al Jazeera bureau chief, al-Omari, said that he believes it will be renewed automatically, as has been the case with the previous civilian order Israel issued to close the Al Jazeera bureau in Israel.