Dutch journalists call for protection of Palestinian colleagues

By Ilayda Cakirtekin

ISTANBUL (AA) - Dutch journalists demanded protection for their Palestinian colleagues in a letter addressed to outgoing Foreign Minister Caspar Veldkamp on Wednesday.

"We, journalists of the Netherlands, urge you to do everything in your power to ensure that journalists in Gaza and the West Bank are no longer targeted, and to stand up to the Israeli government in defense of press freedom and the safety of journalists," said the journalists and editors-in-chief from 45 Dutch media outlets, together with the Dutch Association of Journalists (NVJ) and Free Press Unlimited (FPU).

They urged Veldkamp to condemn Israel’s violations of press freedom and demand their free access to the region, underlining that not being allowed into Gaza makes it "impossible" for international media to operate.

"Access to reliable information is a human right. Journalists document war crimes and human rights violations, enabling us to hold those in power accountable. This makes the safety of Palestinian journalists a matter of life and death. They are the eyes and ears of the world. They are the ones who show us what is happening in Gaza and the West Bank," journalists said.

Stressing that journalists have become "targets" and at least 184 have been killed in the region since October 2023, they demanded an independent investigation into the killings of journalists and inclusion of Israel's international law violations in the investigation under the EU-Israel Association Agreement.

"Our colleagues in the occupied Palestinian territories are paying an indescribably high price for practicing their profession. Time and again, we see that Palestinian journalists are no longer protected," they added.

Journalists further reassured their continued "solidarity" with their colleagues in Gaza and demanded Veldkamp to do the same and take action.

Rejecting international calls for a ceasefire, the Israeli army has pursued a brutal offensive against Gaza since October 2023, killing nearly 55,000 Palestinians, most of them women and children.

As Israel has continued to close all Gaza’s border crossings to humanitarian aid since early March, aid agencies have warned about the risk of famine among Gaza’s 2.4 million inhabitants.

Last November, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.