The state has requested and received, for the fifth time, a postponement of the deadline for submitting its preliminary response to a petition filed by the Foreign Press Association. The petition demands that reporters be allowed independent and free entry into the Gaza Strip.

After claiming for over a year that journalists cannot be allowed into the Strip due to the war, Israeli authorities now claimed that additional time is needed to respond to the petition precisely because of the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.

Since the war began in October 2023, the State of Israel has prohibited Israeli and foreign journalists from entering the Gaza Strip and reporting independently on what is happening in the region. The Foreign Press Association (FPA) petitioned last September demanding that the state lift the ban. This was the second petition in a row, after a previous petition, from the first months of the war, was rejected due to security considerations.

The petition, submitted by attorneys Gilead Sher and Ran Greenwald, claims that "it is of utmost importance, particularly in areas of increasing tension, for independent and objective coverage to be conducted openly and transparently, in a reliable and complete manner, in real time and from first-hand sources, regarding what is happening in the Gaza Strip and to safeguard the public's right to know."

The original deadline for the state's preliminary response to the petition was October 10, 2024, but since then the state has requested and received four different extensions from Supreme Court Judge Noam Solberg. The last of which determined that the state must submit its preliminary response by today (January 21), but today the state submitted a new request for an additional extension.

"In light of the developments, from the very last few days, regarding the current situation of the war and the Gaza Strip, the respondent authorities were asked to provide an updated statement regarding their position regarding the petition," said attorneys Yonatan Nadav and Michal Daniel of the High Court of Justice Department at the State Attorney's Office. "Following this, IDF officials informed us that an updated assessment of the situation on the subject will take place, taking into account developments." In light of this, the state is requesting a 14-day extension.

"With all due respect," FPA attorney Greenwald responded, "after 4 requests for postponement since the decision of the Honorable Supreme Court of September 10, 2024, which determined that the state must submit a preliminary response (originally - by no later than October 10, 2024) and after 4.5 months - it appears that the state has no intention of complying with the decision of the Honorable Court."

"It should be noted that this is a petition that was urgent at the time of its submission, September 10, 2024, and for which an urgent hearing was requested, under the circumstances," argued FPA attorney Greenwald. "Preventing ongoing coverage, every minute, hour and day, constitutes a serious violation of the ability of international media outlets to fulfill their mission, and an equally serious violation of the fundamental rights of their billions of consumers. Once again, as before, the state requests an extension at the very last minute, and again, while informing the honorable court as if it is working vigorously to formulate a response, and that it needs 'only a short extension' to formulate its position. After 4.5 months, it is clear that this is not the case.

"The state completely (and deliberately) ignores the urgency of the issue, proceeds lazily from one extension to the next, and always submits extension requests when the deadline arrives, while creating a representation to the honorable Supreme Court as if it is working until the very last minute in an attempt to formulate a response."

Judge Solberg issued a one-sentence decision: "In light of the reasons for the request - as requested; a preliminary response to the petition will be submitted by February 3, 2025." As in previous decisions approving extensions, this time too Solberg did not indicate that this would be the last extension he would approve, thus opening up the possibility of postponing the deadline in the future.