The Israeli embassy in France labelled Palestinian photojournalist Motaz Azaiza a “terrorist” and requested that the Freedom Prize awarded to him by Region Normandy be revoked.
Azaiza was nominated by 14,265 young voters from 116 countries, shortlisted by a jury and was presented the award in a ceremony in Caen.
The Israeli embassy in France took great offence to the journalist receiving the prize, claiming that Azaiza was “an individual who […] advocates terrorism and actively contributes to the spread of anti-Israeli and anti-Semitic content on its social networks”.
Ironically, the embassy stated that “for the past eight months, hundreds of people have been deprived of their freedom by Hamas in Gaza, which is responsible for a war that Israel did not ask for”.
In case you need a reminder, which the Israeli embassy in France clearly does, according to Reuters, the Gaza health ministry has said that more than 36,654 Palestinians have been killed and 83,309 have been wounded in Israel’s military offensive in Gaza since October 7.
In the past 24 hours alone, some 68 Palestinians were killed and 235 wounded, the ministry added.
The Israeli embassy also stated that, “Honouring a supporter of extremism is not only a gross error, but also a dangerous legitimisation of hate speech and violence” and called on the award givers to “reconsider their position and withdraw this moral and financial award from this Hamas sympathiser”.
What the embassy forgets — much like the country it represents — is that under international law, specifically Article 19 (2) of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, everyone has the right to freedom of expression.
“This right shall include freedom to seek, receive and impart information and ideas of all kinds, regardless of frontiers, either orally, in writing or in print, in the form of art, or through any other media of his choice.”
Israel is a party to this covenant. Maybe it’s forgotten? But then again, it never remembered much about international law and human rights.
While receiving the award, Azaiza detailed that less than a year ago he simply wanted to create art and photograph things on the Gaza Strip, but things changed when the Israeli aggression proliferated after October 7, 2023. “As a Palestinian we never had the choice, we could never choose for ourselves.”
After several months of covering Israeli atrocities in Gaza, Azaiza evacuated Palestine in January, and has continued to use his platform to fight for the rights of Palestinians.