Saturday 15th May 2021
After attack on office building
USA urges Israel to protect the press
Israel bombs a house used by journalists in Gaza. In a telephone conversation, US President Biden advises the Israeli Prime Minister of his duty to protect the press. The White House is also speaking to Palestinian President Abbas.
After the Israeli military destroyed a high-rise building in Gaza that was used by journalists, the US claims that it has advised its allies of its duty to protect the press. Israel has been told “that ensuring the safety of journalists and independent media is a priority task,” said Jen Psaki, spokeswoman for the President’s Office.
According to Israeli sources, President Joe Biden and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu were on the phone. The latter had assured Biden that Israel would do everything to ensure that bystanders would not be harmed in the fighting. Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he has informed Biden about developments and measures that Israel has taken and still wants to take, he tweeted. He also thanked the American president for the “unconditional support” of the US when it comes to Israel’s right to self-defense. The conversation between Netanyahu and Biden was the second official one since the conflict began.
Biden also spoke to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, his office announced. Details were not initially known. Abbas’ Fatah movement is the arch rival of the radical Islamic Hamas, which has been fighting the most violent skirmishes in years with Israel since Monday.
The offices of the Associated Press (AP) news agency and the Al Jazeera TV station were located in the destroyed building. It had been evacuated after warnings of the imminent shelling. AP reacted in horror. “This is an incredibly worrying development,” said AP President Gary Pruitt in New York. “We only narrowly escaped a terrible loss of life.” A dozen AP journalists and freelancers were brought to safety on time.
The Israeli army announced on Twitter that fighter jets had attacked a high-rise building in which the Islamist Hamas military intelligence service had “military resources” at its disposal. “In the building there are offices of civil media, behind which the terrorist organization Hamas is hiding and which it is abusing as human shields.” A military spokesman said, “The media is not the target.”
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