The founder of the Geneva‑based advocacy group Euro‑Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor, Ramy Abdu, has sparked a fresh controversy by stating on social media that Gaza‑based journalists may also serve as terrorist operatives.
In a Facebook post dated 23 June, written in Arabic, Abdu – whose background includes documented links to senior Hamas figures – said that "some journalists had engaged in acts of resistance prior to their journalistic work". He suggested that dual roles are not unusual in the conflict zone.
The remarks arrive as the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) announced a comprehensive review of its widely cited register of journalists killed in Gaza. The list, which has long included dozens of individuals later identified as Hamas or other jihadist combatants, is now being questioned for its accuracy.
Both CPJ and Euro‑Med Monitor were cited as primary sources in a May report by Nicholas Kristof that alleged Israeli soldiers had raped two Palestinian journalists with a carrot and a dog – a claim the New York Times described as sexual violence. The New York Times has declined to comment on Abdu’s statements, on the credibility of Euro‑Med Monitor, or on its reliance on the CPJ casualty list.
Euro‑Med Monitor did not respond to a request for comment on the Facebook post. The controversy has prompted calls for the New York Times to issue a retraction and an apology, with critics arguing that the paper’s reporting has been misleading and damaging to its reputation.
Further doubts were raised after Al Jazeera photojournalist Ahmed Samir Muhammad Washah was identified as a Hamas sniper, with video evidence showing him firing an automatic weapon and posing with a rifle. The episode adds another layer of complexity to the debate over who should be counted as journalists versus combatants.
The details were first reported by the original source material.