JERUSALEM – The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) has claimed that six journalists from the Al Jazeera news agency are members of two terrorist organizations: Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad. The IDF said it had discovered documents in Gaza.
On Thursday, the IDF released a document outlining the names, ranks and identification numbers of terrorist suspects. Al-Jazeera reporter Anas Jamal Mahmoud al-Sharif is a member of Hamas' northern brigade and has served as a “true team commander” and “third-class soldier,” according to the IDF.
The IDF information included financial information about the terrorist suspect and claimed that al-Sharif was a “combatant and cell leader for a rocket company” and a “combatant” in Hamas's special forces unit, Nuhuba Squadron.
In a statement released on Wednesday, Al Jazeera Media Network called the allegations “baseless” and said: “These fabricated accusations silence the few remaining journalists in the region, thereby reducing the number of viewers around the world.” “We view this as a blatant attempt to hide the harsh realities of war from the public.” ”
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Photos of alleged Hamas terrorists wearing protective vests labeled “Press Agency” were displayed for reporting in conflict zones. In the IDF documents. Al Jazeera's headquarters are in Qatar.
Following the Hamas massacre in Israel on October 7, 2023, in which approximately 1,200 Israelis and other foreigners were killed and 241 hostages were taken by Hamas terrorists, Israel invaded Gaza to bring back Hamas and annihilate Hamas.
A man walks past an evacuation tent set up near a collapsed building in the Blij camp in the central Gaza Strip on October 1, 2024. (Eyad Baba/AFP via Getty Images)
Walid O'Malley, the Jerusalem bureau chief for the now-closed Al Jazeera bureau, flatly denied the IDF's allegations about Al Jazeera reporters to Fox News Digital.
“These are unsubstantiated claims by the Israeli military.Al Jazeera acknowledges that the journalists mentioned below are employed by the network, but we firmly reject these allegations and the depiction of the journalists as terrorists. They are simply carrying out their professional duties and documenting the terrible reality of the war and its impact on 2 million civilians. The charges follow Al Jazeera's revelations of potential war crimes committed by Israeli forces during the Gaza war.
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Al Jazeera bureau chief Walid Omari speaks at a press conference about the targeting of Palestinian journalists in London, May 27, 2022. (Rashid Nekati Aslim/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
O'Malley added: “Over the past two years, they have targeted and killed several Al Jazeera reporters in both the West Bank and Gaza, including Palestinian American journalist Shireen Abu Akre in 2022. and Hamza Al Samer Abu Dhaka,” he added. Dahadou and Ismail Al Ghoul have been accused over the past year based on unsubstantiated claims and fabricated evidence, and Al Jazeera has brought these cases to the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague to seek justice for the employees. woke up.
“Furthermore, internationally renowned press freedom organizations have documented that the Israeli military has targeted and killed more than 100 journalists and media workers over the past year. The network continues to show hostility because it is committed to broadcasting the unfolding reality, both in Gaza and elsewhere. ”
Other reporters named in the IDF document include Ismail Farid Muhammad Abu Omar, an alleged Hamas operative from the Khan Yunis Brigades since 2021. The Israel Defense Forces said he was a “team commander,” “platoon leader of a training unit,” and “exercise commander.” According to the IDF, he joined Hamas in 2005.
July 29, 2017, Al Jazeera Jerusalem office. (Mahmoud Ibrahem/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images)
The other Hamas members, according to the IDF, are Hossam Basel Abdul Karim Shabat, a member of the Beit Hanoun battalion and an “anti-tank company sniper,” and Talal, who is said to have joined Hamas. Mr. Mahmoud Abdul Rahman Alki. According to the IDF, in 2008.
Alki issued a statement on Instagram refuting the IDF's claims, saying he was in college when the IDF accused him of joining Hamas. “This is an incitement campaign by the Israeli military against me and the Al Jazeera reporters. This news is nothing but an allegation of incitement by the Israeli military,” he said.
The IDF also claimed that two other journalists were participating in Palestinian Islamic Jihad. Allah Abdul Aziz Muhammad Salama, who they claim is the “deputy commander of combat propaganda,” and Ashraf Sami Ashur Sarraj, an infantryman.
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The US government has classified both Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad as foreign terrorist organizations.
Announced by the Committee to Protect Journalists Statement regarding X “The Committee to Protect Journalists is aware that the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) has accused several journalists in Gaza of being members of armed groups. He continues to make similar unproven claims.”
