The Foreign Press Association (FPA) in Jerusalem filed a petition on Monday with the Israeli Supreme Court seeking immediate access to the Gaza Strip for the international media. This step comes after multiple official requests to the Israeli Government Press Office (GPO), the Israeli military and Defense Ministry received no substantive response.

The FPA expects the Israeli government and military to stand true to their stated commitments to allow freedom of reporting for journalists.

Freedom of the press is a basic civil right in a democratic society. We also believe it is in the public interest to get a fullerpicture of conditions inside Gaza after 10 weeks of extremely limited and highly controlled access. The Israeli military hasallowed some reporters to embed with troops in Gaza, but this does not allow access to areas where soldiers are not present.

We are aware of the unique security challenges posed by the current war, and any members entering Gaza would have to take these risks into account. But the Israeli government’s recent agreement to allow aid to enter Gaza directly fromIsrael shows that such obstacles can be overcome.

Israel has blocked foreign press access to Gaza during some previous wars, but never before so long. We hope this petition will encourage the government to grant access.

The Foreign Press Association in Israel and the Palestinian territories represents about 370 journalists from 130 media outlets in more than 30 countries representing at least ten languages.

The Board of the Foreign Press Association