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The world must know

Aug 12, 2014, 9:50 AM

Did you know that the victims of Israel’s brutal attack on Palestinians in Gaza include several journalists?

Yes! By 5 August 2014, Reporters Without Borders revealed, the media death toll reached 13.

Indeed, as Israel announced the withdrawal of its troops from the Gaza Strip, Reporters Without Borders reported that 12 Palestinian journalists and one media worker have been killed since the start of Operation Protective Edge on 8 July, seven of them in connection with their work.

“This was the highest toll since Israel withdrew in 2005”.

“Whether these journalists and media workers were killed in indiscriminate air raids or were deliberately targeted, their deaths should be independently investigated and those responsible should be identified,” said Reporters Without Borders assistant research director Virginie Dangles.

“Journalists should not be targeted by belligerents, who must respect the Geneva Conventions and their additional protocols, as well as UN Security Council Resolution 1738, adopted in 2006.”

Meanwhile, Reporters Without Borders has continues to remind us about what happened in Egypt – the fact that “journalists should not be in prison for doing their job.”

Reporters Without Borders’ new online petition urges Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi to free all journalists detained in Egypt, including three Al-Jazeera employees who were recently sentenced to spend 7 to 10 years behind bars.

The petition calls for Egyptian authorities to live up to their own constitution and international obligations to protect freedom of information.

“Governments that block the aspirations of their people, that steal or are corrupt, that oppress and torture or that deny freedom of expression and human rights should bear in mind that they will find it increasingly hard to escape the judgement of their own people, or where warranted, the reach of international law”.

William Hague