Israeli Supreme Court extends deadline in case seeking foreign press access to Gaza

The Israeli Supreme Court issued an extension for the government on Sunday, giving it more time to respond to an ongoing petition filed by international journalists seeking access to the Gaza Strip.

The petition was first filed in September of 2024 by The Foreign Press Association in Israel who criticized the latest delays in litigating the case. The group comprised journalists working for the international press in Israel, the West Bank and Gaza, and said the continuance was “beyond absurd.”

“These repeated delays have robbed the world of a fuller glimpse of conditions in Gaza and made a mockery of the entire legal process,” the association said.

A former spokesman for the IDF said the restrictions should have been lifted long ago.

“Israel should have let international journalists into Gaza a long time ago, to deprive Israel haters and propagandists with one effective talking point repeatedly used against it,” Jonathan Conricus tweeted on 𝕏.  

Speaking to the The New York Times, Conricus said the ban should have been eased “more than a year ago, and definitely since the ceasefire.” 

“I think there is very little logic left,” he said. “I think it is self-defeating and does not serve any clear purpose for the State of Israel. At this stage, I think it is harmful.”

The Israeli government has issued statements that the area is not safe, and that the journalists’ entry would put them and Israeli troops at risk.

The government is scheduled to give its latest response to the petition on Dec. 21. 

Jonathan Conricus was the IDF’s international spokesman between 2017 and 2021 and is now a senior fellow at the US-based Foundation for Defense of Democracies in the Middle East. He served in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) for 24 years as a combat commander in Lebanon and the Gaza Strip.

Conricus also served as a military diplomat and foreign relations expert, retiring as a lieutenant colonel. He was the first Israeli officer to be seconded to the United Nations (UN), where he provided military and strategic analysis for UN peacekeeping forces. 

Writing on 𝕏, Conricus said, “many media workers and their bosses have failed in basic journalism and ethics in how they’ve chosen to cover this war and Israel in general, but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t allow them in to do their work. At this stage keeping them out only serves our enemies and antagonists.”