By Hannaan Fuad
Edited by Maizatul
Source: New Straits Times
ISTANBUL, 26th February 2024: Israel's organised campaigns to spread misinformation about Palestine have been called out by the Information Ministers of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC). The propaganda that they are bringing to the media and their targeting of journalists in Palestine is a clear violation of human rights.
The systematic targeting of Palestinian journalists, along with other misinformation spread in the media, are all part of the strategy to silence those who are advocating for the Palestinians. This action was condemned by the ministers in the one-day Extraordinary Session of the Islamic Conference of Information Ministers (ICIM) in Istanbul, Turkiye.
"The ministers are also concerned that Israel, the occupying power, is seeking to conceal the truth about the unfolding atrocities in the Gaza Strip, including murdering babies, children, women, elderly journalists, healthcare workers, academics, and humanitarian workers through systematic disinformation campaigns."
Following this, the Israeli occupation authorities have been asked by the Final Communique of the ministers to be held accountable for the crimes they have committed not only against the Palestinians but also against the journalists in Palestine. The international community can do this by starting an investigation into Israel's violation of international law.
The ministers at the conference had expressed their determination to work together to fight disinformation and expose Israel’s inhumane attacks on civilians to force the displacement of the Palestinians. Israel tried to cover up the destruction that they brought to undermine the world’s reaction against them.
"We also emphasise our collective determination to counter and expose attempts by the Israeli colonial occupation to cover up the destruction in the field by intimidating journalists to minimise the international reaction, and to ensure that their efforts to cover up the war crimes and genocide committed in the Gaza Strip fail."
In an effort to do so, the OIC General Secretariat’s Media Monitoring Unit has been tasked with formulating a media action plan along with OIC media institutions and interested parties, such as the national news agencies of member states of the OIC, to combat Israel’s disinformation and misinformation, and to expose their war crimes at international forums.
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