Popular Palestinian journalist from Gaza, Muataz Azayzeh, is attacked on social media following a field interview he conducted with a resident of the Al-Bureij refugee camp in which the latter expressed support for coexistence with Israel.
Palestinian journalist attacked after interview with Gaza resident who supported coexistence with Israel // Arab networks
"We accepted the UN resolutions and the Oslo that Arafat signed, there were negotiations for 30 years without result," the resident said. "Today you are attacking us, we have 75,200 dead and wounded, where do you want us to go, to <>,<>? And then what? In the end, we are a people that wants to live, as you (Israel) want to live. We are not demanding the destruction of the State of Israel. On the contrary, we can live together with her. But they want to live like all peoples with dignity."
"We want to live"
"We're tired of it, like the Israeli people are fed up, we want to live, as they live, nothing more," the resident added.
Azayza shared these unusual things on his social media accounts, and immediately there was a lot of noise against him from activists and Hamas supporters. They accused Azaiza of being a "Zionist agent and collaborator of the Palestinian Authority." They also accused him of damaging morale, and complained that it would have been better if he interviewed people who praised the "resistance" instead of conveying messages that, they claimed, served Israeli propaganda.
On the other hand, there were those who came to Azzaiza's defense following the campaign against him, saying that it was his journalistic duty to bring the voices of the residents and the diversity of opinions from Gaza, and not only those who support Hamas. "Don't attack the messenger who does his job," they noted.
Gaza, photo: AFP
It should be noted that Palestinian and Arab network activists, journalists, and media outlets, including Al-Jazeera, refrain from publishing voices and interviews of residents who criticize Hamas. Some out of fear of the organization and others out of identification with it. In some cases, people who did attack Hamas during a live broadcast were taken off the air.
Azzaiza, 24, from Deir al-Balah, is known in Gaza as a reporter and field photographer who has amassed hundreds of millions of followers and viewers around the world. Since the beginning of the war, he has uploaded videos and video materials daily from combat zones in the Gaza Strip and described what was happening there while bringing in the voices of residents from the field.
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