Yet Israel stands in the dock ahead of countries where far more journalist deaths have occurred.

Upon being asked whether it was unfairly targeting Israel, the CPJ argued that it “regularly undertakes special reports on press freedom in a range of countries and on a range of thematic issues” and cited its reports on press freedom and journalist safety in the EU, Afghanistan, the United States, and Myanmar.

“Israel Labels Journalists as Terrorists”

One of the CPJ’s charges is that “Israel labels journalists as terrorists.”

Indeed, Israel has repeatedly said that a number of the dead Palestinians were affiliated with terrorist groups. While the CPJ seeks to cast doubt on that claim, a quick glance at the report reveals Israel’s allegations are right on the money.

For example, the CPJ highlights the 2018 death of Yaser Murtaja, a Palestinian press photographer and co-founder of the Ain Media production company during the Great March of Return protests in Gaza:

Testimony from local journalists who witnessed the incident described Murtaja as wearing a bulletproof vest and helmet that were both clearly marked with the words “PRESS” when he was hit.

Hossam Hisham Salem, a photographer for Ain Media who witnessed his colleague being shot, told MADA that Murtaja was approximately 350 meters (1,148 ft) from the border fence when a bullet hit the right side of his abdomen.

What CPJ fails to mention, however, is that Murtaja was also a Hamas terrorist who served for four years as an officer holding the rank of captain within the designated terror group’s internal security services in the Gaza Strip, and that in 2015, Murtaja attempted to smuggle a drone from Israel into the coastal enclave with the purpose of aiding Hamas intelligence gathering.

Additionally, if the name of the key witness to Murtaja’s death sounds familiar, it’s because it is. Hossam Salem, whose testimony the CPJ relies heavily on, was recently fired from his freelance role at The New York Times after HonestReporting exposed his terrorist sympathies and murderous hatred of Jews — which should give an indication as to the reliability of the evidence.

Another death CPJ includes in the report is that of Khaled Reyadh Hamad, a member of Hamas’ Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades, a terrorist operative who also apparently moonlighted as a cameraman in the terror group’s media network. Following his death in 2014, he was wrapped in the distinctive green flag of Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades and was referred to as a “jihad fighter.”