Israel: Foreign Press Welcomes Court Ultimatum on Access to Gaza

Israel: The foreign press association in Jerusalem (FPA) praised the Israeli Supreme Court's decision to set a deadline of January 4 for Israel to respond to its request for media access to Gaza. Since the onset of the war in Gaza in October 2023, triggered by an unprecedented attack from Hamas, Israeli authorities have prevented foreign journalists from independently entering the devastated territory. Israel has only allowed a limited number of reporters to accompany its troops into the Israeli-blockaded Palestinian territory on a case-by-case basis.

The FPA, which represents international media in Israel and the Palestinian territories and consists of hundreds of members, had requested over a year ago for the Israeli judiciary to grant immediate access to Gaza. The court held a preliminary hearing on this request on October 23 and allowed Israeli authorities a month to develop a plan for this access. Since then, the court has granted several extensions to the Israeli authorities to present their plan but set January 4 as the final deadline.

"If the defendants (the Israeli authorities) do not inform us of their position by this date, a decision regarding the request for a conditional order will be made based on the documents in the file," stated the Supreme Court. The FPA welcomed this latest directive from the court.

"After two years of delaying tactics by the State, we are pleased to see that the court's patience has finally run out," the association said in a statement.

"We reiterate our call for the State of Israel to grant journalists immediate and unrestricted access to the Gaza Strip. If the government continues to obstruct press freedom, we hope the Supreme Court will recognize and uphold these freedoms," it added.

A journalist from AFP serves on the board of the FPA.