In an open letter, national German media have called on the governments of Israel and Egypt to grant journalists unhindered access to the Gaza Strip. “The almost complete exclusion of international media in a crisis of this enormous global scope is unprecedented in recent history,” says the appeal by editors-in-chief, directors and the ARD chairman, which is also supported by the South German Newspaper has connected.
“Anyone who makes independent reporting on this war impossible is damaging their own credibility. Anyone who prohibits us from working in the Gaza Strip is creating the conditions for human rights to be violated.” The media have “decades of experience in assessing and analyzing various international crises” and are not a party to the conflict. The editorial staff are aware of the risks of reporting on the ground, but are prepared to bear them.
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The appeal is addressed to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Egyptian President Abd al-Fattah al-Sisi. The signatories include the editors-in-chief of The time, Mirror, South German newspaper, taz, Picturedpa and the heads of the television stations ARD, ZDF, RTL, NTV, Arte and Deutsche Welle. There are also professional organizations such as Reporters Without Borders and the German Journalists Association. The letter was delivered to the governments yesterday, Monday, September 16th.
The full text of the appeal and the list of signatory media can be found here.