CAIRO, November 4, 2026 (WAFA) – General Supervisor of the Palestinian Official Media, Minister Ahmad Assaf, called today for protection for Palestinians and journalists to enable them to continue carrying out their professional mission and reporting the realities on the ground.
Assaf made the remarks while delivering Palestine's address at the 56th regular session of the Arab Media Ministers Council, held at the headquarters of the Arab League General Secretariat in Cairo. The meeting was chaired by Somali Minister of Information, Tourism and Culture Abdulfattah Qasim Mahmoud and attended by Arab League Secretary-General Nabil Fahmy and Assistant Secretary-General and Head of the Media and Communication Sector Ahmed Rachid Khattabi.
Assaf urged Arab and international media institutions and bodies to step up efforts to document Israeli crimes against Palestinian journalists and the Palestinian people, expose the truth and convey it to the world. He said Palestinian media was facing a parallel war targeting the people, the land and the Palestinian narrative.
He said the Palestinian people were enduring an all-out assault by the extremist Israeli government, noting that the Gaza Strip remained devastated and under siege, with Palestinians subjected to killing and starvation and forced to live in conditions no human being would accept for themselves.
He added that the situation in the occupied West Bank was no less dangerous than that in Gaza. Israel, he said, had fragmented the territory with thousands of military checkpoints, while colonist violence had affected every aspect of daily life through land seizures, assaults on residents, and the theft of livestock and agricultural crops. He said these practices sought to make Palestinian land uninhabitable for its original owners and force them to leave, stressing that the displacement of Palestinians from their land would not happen.
Assaf also said occupied Jerusalem was under siege and facing violations targeting its Muslim and Christian holy sites. He cited the desecration of al-Aqsa Mosque by colonists, while Palestinian Muslims are being prevented from performing their religious rites and Christians being restricted from practicing their faith and accessing their places of worship.
He noted that the world had witnessed attacks on Christian clergy and the prevention of worshippers from reaching the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.
Assaf said Israel had long sought to commit its crimes away from the world's eyes, as it did in 1948, 1967 and on numerous other occasions. He pointed out that foreign journalists had been barred from entering Gaza and subjected to physical assaults, citing recent incidents involving a Washington Post correspondent and photographer, as well as an earlier incident involving a CNN crew.
He said Israel sought to continue committing genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity beyond international scrutiny. In this regard, he cited the scale of destruction inflicted on homes, schools, hospitals, mosques and churches in Gaza, and a toll of approximately 300,000 people killed, injured or missing. He also said around 80% of homes and other structures, including schools, hospitals and places of worship, had been destroyed.
Assaf also pointed to millions of people taking to the streets worldwide to reject Israel's assault on the Palestinian people and support their legitimate rights. He said Israel had become increasingly isolated among the vast majority of the world's countries and peoples.
He said Israel had waged a parallel war against the Palestinian people and their land, combining killing and destruction with efforts to fabricate and promote a false narrative internationally. He added that 263 journalists had been killed while carrying out their professional duties.
Assaf praised the important role played by Arab media and independent media worldwide in supporting the Palestinian narrative and strengthening its international presence, saying this demonstrated the media's importance in defending just causes.
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