Doha, Qatar: Al Jazeera’s Director in Gaza Wael Al-Dahdouh has urged international actors to take concrete, enforceable steps to hold Israel accountable for what he described as widespread crimes against journalists and civilians in Gaza.
Speaking to The Peninsula on the sidelines of an international conference in Doha yesterday, Al-Dahdouh said the importance of the current international conference lies in transforming pressure and advocacy into “practical, serious and real” measures to prosecute those responsible.
“We have lost 254 journalists in Gaza — men and women — and others elsewhere. There are also hundreds more injured,” he said, citing the heavy human toll on media professionals. “Many families have been affected, offices have been struck. There are many war crimes that Israel should not be allowed to escape responsibility for.”
Al-Dahdouh warned that impunity would amount to a reward that encourages further attacks. “If Israel is not held to account, that will be seen as a green light to continue assassinating and targeting more journalists,” he said.
Despite the losses and destruction, he added, journalists in Gaza have continued their work: “The role of journalists remains ongoing despite the extermination. But we want this extermination against journalists and the people of Gaza to stop.”
Looking ahead to the conference’s outcomes, Al-Dahdouh said he expects “clear, direct and practical” recommendations aimed at the relevant international bodies and decision-makers — governments, parliaments, unions, federations and the United Nations — to adopt measures, laws and decisions that compel Israel to cease these acts. “We need recommendations that will influence those who make decisions around the world,” he said. Al-Dahdouh also appealed directly to journalists’ associations and media unions globally, asking why they had not done more to stand with their Gaza colleagues. “Where is your role in seeking justice for your colleagues in Gaza? Why did you not stand by them as you should have?” he asked, calling for coordinated action from media organisations worldwide to protect press freedom and ensure accountability.
He said that victims must see Israel brought to the dock in an international forum. “We have reached a moment when Israel should be in the dock and held accountable and tried for these crimes,” he said, stressing that meaningful legal and political steps are urgently needed to prevent further loss of life and to uphold the public’s right to know.
