Dublin MEPS criticise killing of Gaza journalists

Dublin MEPS Barry Andrews (Fianna Fáil), Lynn Boylan (Sinn Féin) and Aodhán Ó Ríordáin (Labour) have signed a letter, addressed to European Commission president Ursula Von Der Leyen, calling on the European Union to condemn the killing of journalists in Gaza.

Left-wing independent MEP Luke “Ming” Flanagan and Fianna Fáil’s Cynthia Ní Mhurchú also signed the letter, with no Fine Gael MEPs putting their name to it.

The letter was signed by MEPs from Renew, Fianna Fáil’s European grouping, The Left (Sinn Féin’s European grouping), the Greens, and Socialists and Democrats (Labour’s European grouping), with no MEP from the European People’s Party (Fine Gael’s European cohort) or from the far-right signing it.

The Irish MEPs, joined by fellow MEPs from liberal, centre-left and left-wing parties, said that the killing of journalists by Israel “undermines freedom of the press and constitutes yet another grave violation of international law.”

Since the Israel-Gaza war started in October 2023, over 230 journalists have been killed in Gaza, making it the deadliest conflict for journalists since figures started being recorded in the 1990s.

The killing of six journalists by Israeli forces on August 10 has drawn sharp condemnation from the international community.

Mohammad al-Khaldi, Anas al-Sharif, Mohammed Qreiqeh, Ibrahim Zaher, Mohammed Noufal, and Moamen Aliwa were all killed by Israeli forces while reporting on the ongoing conflict in the region.

“We, Members of the European Parliament, strongly condemn the continuous systematic targeting of journalists in the Gaza Strip,” the letter to Von Der Leyen reads.

“Since October 2023, Israel has killed more than 238 journalists and media workers in Gaza. This unprecedented toll makes the Gaza Strip the most dangerous place in the world for media professionals,” it states.

“Foreign journalists remain barred from entering the territory, blocked by Israeli-imposed restrictions that actively obstruct the truth from emerging to the world.”

The MEPs said that “the European Parliament must defend the Union’s political and moral integrity by extending its commitment to press freedom beyond Europe.”

“While the EU protects media independence at home, it must also act decisively against violations in Palestine; the targeting of journalists and press blackout demand an immediate suspension of the EU-Israel Association Agreement, enforcement of a comprehensive arms embargo, adoption of sanctions against the Israeli authorities, and guarantee unhindered humanitarian access to Gaza.”

They said that “international law cannot be applied selectively. Silence or inaction in the face of systematic targeting of journalists makes the EU complicit in undermining the very rules-based order it claims to uphold; freedom of the press is not negotiable.”

“If the European Parliament allows these killings and restrictions to pass without a tangible response, it risks normalising such violations and undermining its own credibility as a defender of democratic values.”