UN Official: Israel Has Not Been Held Accountable for Killing Palestinian Journalists for Over 20 Years

Israel has never been held accountable for killing journalists in Palestine, with cases stretching back more than 20 years, according to Irene Khan, the UN Special Rapporteur on freedom of expression and opinion. Speaking at a Geneva news briefing alongside the UN Special Rapporteur on Palestinian territory, Khan warned that Israel’s impunity has created an “environment of permissibility” where Israeli soldiers operate with near-total freedom to suppress journalists reporting on the ground.

Khan emphasized that Israeli forces have systematically targeted and killed Palestinian journalists, establishing a “terrible precedent” of silencing media voices and obstructing documentation of international crimes. She said, “Israeli soldiers can do what they want to destroy those who are daring enough to expose the truth.”

The Special Rapporteur’s comments come amid reports of recent killings of Palestinian journalists in Israeli strikes on Gaza, with over 240 journalists killed since 2023, marking this as the deadliest conflict for media professionals in modern history.

Khan called on the international community to end this impunity, urging independent investigations into the killings, reparations for victims’ families, and guaranteed safe access for international media to report freely from Palestinian territories.

“Journalism is not terrorism,” Khan stated firmly, criticizing unfounded Israeli accusations labeling journalists as terrorists. She called for urgent diplomatic and political action to protect journalists and uphold the fundamental right to freedom of expression.

Source: United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, Al Jazeera, UN Press Releases