Netanyahu Was Confronted About Israel Killing Journalists In Gaza And Denied It Is Trying To Hide The Truth
“We didn't target [journalists]. We don't kill journalists and we don't jail them. And we certainly don't execute them,” Netanyahu said.
Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said Israel does not target or kill journalists, adding that some journalists have been killed in Gaza because there was “crossfire.”
Since Oct. 7, 2023, Israel has killed more than 257 journalists during its genocide in Gaza, making it the deadliest period for journalists since the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) began gathering data in 1992.
It has also banned foreign journalists from independently entering Gaza without the Israeli military.
Over 100 foreign media outlets petitioned for independent access in 2024, but approvals remain rare and conditional, leading to reliance on local Palestinian journalists.
During an interview with the Economist on Friday, Jan. 9, two interviewers confronted Netanyahu about the fact that Israel has not allowed foreign journalists into Gaza without the Israeli military’s oversight.
He denied restricting international journalists' access to Gaza in order to hide the truth, saying that the reason international journalists aren’t allowed is that Gaza is a “war zone” even during the “ceasefire.”
Netanyahu also said that Israel does not kill journalists, adding that “some have been tragically killed because there's crossfire.”
“We didn't target [journalists]. We don't kill journalists and we don't jail them. And we certainly don't execute them,” Netanyahu added.
During the interview, Netanyahu denied committing war crimes despite facing an arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court (ICC) for war crimes and crimes against humanity against Palestinians in Gaza.
He said that Israel avoided “carpet bombing” Gaza and took unusual precautions, adding that any other Western country in Israel’s place would have responded more forcefully.
Netanyahu claimed that Israel’s genocide in Gaza represents a global “battle against radical Islam,” adding that Western liberal democracies face the same enemy.
He also refused to rule out Israel annexing the occupied West Bank.
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Cherry Mohamed
Cherry Mohamed
Cherry Mohamed
