Two human rights organizations have filed a joint lawsuit with the International Criminal Court (ICC) concerning Israel’s systematic targeting of journalists in the Gaza Strip, following the killing of six journalists there the day before yesterday.
The Palestinian Centre for Human Rights in Gaza and the Brussels-based Hind Rajab Foundation submitted a lawsuit to the ICC last night. They stated that “the recent Israeli attack represents far more than just another tragedy in a ‘conflict’ marked by violence against journalists, where 242 journalists have been killed since the beginning of the war, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists.”
They added, “This was not just another tragedy in a long war on the press; it was a clear criminal act, a war crime, and part of a broader genocidal campaign that requires a direct and targeted legal response.”
In the filing to the ICC, the two organizations noted that Israel’s targeting of journalists “are not isolated incidents.” They demanded the issuance of arrest warrants for specific Israeli military officials named in the lawsuit and called for the expansion of the ICC’s current arrest warrant against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to include crimes against journalists.
