Desree Pether says Australian engineer Robert Pether 'unrecognisable' after release from Iraqi prison
The 50-year-old engineer had been languishing behind bars for four years before Iraqi authorities decided to release him on bail on Thursday night local time, along with his colleague Khalid Zaghoul Radwan.
His family has held grave concerns for him, repeatedly calling for his release on humanitarian grounds as his physical and mental health deteriorated.
"He's barely able to walk, he's very weak," his wife Desree told ABC News from the family home in Ireland.
"He's unrecognisable to look at him — if you looked at him and looked at his passport photo, you would think it was two different men. He looks like a 70-year-old."
Mrs Pether said her husband was able to speak to his children soon after his release.
"They're just so numb at this point, there's been so many blows and I think until we actually get him home and we can physically hug him and he's here in front of us, it'll still be a bit surreal for them."
Mr Pether and Mr Radwan were jailed on what their families and lawyers have long argued were trumped-up fraud charges, relating to their work as contractors on the construction of the new Central Bank of Iraq headquarters in Baghdad.
Both men maintain their innocence, and Mr Pether insists he was forced to sign a confession written for him in Arabic — a language he does not speak.
A UN inquiry found there was evidence the men had been tortured prior to their convictions.
Despite being freed from jail, the two men remain subject to travel bans as part of their bail restrictions.
The specific details of those restrictions are unclear, and are unlikely to be revealed until next week, after the Eid al-Adha holidays in Iraq.
It is feared the travel ban may coincide with further investigations into the men's conduct, with fresh money-laundering charges being considered by Iraqi authorities — allegations the Pether family have roundly rejected.
"All we know is that he is out of the prison, and I guess in a state of limbo," Mrs Pether said.
"But at least he can communicate with us a lot more, and hopefully we can keep his spirits up and he can get some counselling as well.
"It's a small step in the right direction, but we're very, very worried about his health."
Last month, Mrs Pether said the family were worried he had developed lung cancer whilst in jail.
The family is also in a perilous financial situation, having been forced to try to sell their home in Ireland to pay for Mr Pether's legal fees and now the cost of his accommodation.
"We really just need to get him out of there and back to Ireland or Australia where he can get the appropriate medical care that he needs so desperately," Mrs Pether said.
Despite Mr Pether being an Australian citizen, the family has previously reached out to the Irish government for assistance in lobbying for his release, concerned Australian officials were not pushing his case hard enough.
Ireland's Tánaiste, or deputy prime minister, Simon Harris, released a statement saying he had spoken directly with Mr Pether.
"We will not rest until we get him back home to Roscommon and to his family," he posted on X.
Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong also welcomed his release.
"I know the personal toll Mr Pether's detention has taken on him and his family and hope this news brings a measure of relief after years of distress," she said in a statement.
"While Mr Pether remains subject to legal proceedings in Iraq, this is a positive development and follows persistent Australian government advocacy over many years."
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The Australian
2 days ago
- The Australian
UN report: Pro-govt forces committed mass killings in Syria's coast
A UN human-rights commission probing sectarian violence in Syria found that pro-government forces committed systematic and widespread crimes against civilians earlier this year, but uncovered no evidence that the country's new government orchestrated the attacks. The 66-page report, released Thursday by the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Syrian Arab Republic, focused on violence against Syria's Alawite communities along the Mediterranean coast in March. The report extensively detailed abuses including murder, torture and abductions amid clashes that erupted between gunmen loyal to the deposed Assad regime and state security forces and militias allied with the government. Hundreds of Alawites were killed as the violence swiftly descended into sectarian revenge attacks that forced tens of thousands to flee their homes. It was some of the worst violence since Assad was overthrown by a rebel coalition in December. The U.N. report documented how armed groups went door to door in a number of locations to identify Alawite men. The men were separated from their families and then taken outside to be shot. Alawite women and children were also killed, the report found. Bodies were left in the streets for days, it said. The commission identified several armed groups aligned with Syria's government whose fighters allegedly perpetrated many atrocities. It also found that atrocities were committed by pro-Assad forces and said more needed to be done to bring those responsible to justice. 'The scale and brutality of the violence documented in our report is deeply disturbing,' said Paulo Sérgio Pinheiro, who chaired the commission. 'While dozens of alleged perpetrators of violations have reportedly since been arrested, the scale of the violence documented in our report warrants expanding such efforts.' Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad Hasan Al-Shaibani welcomed the report and said, 'We take serious note of the alleged violations committed during that period.' The United Nations-backed commission said it continued to receive reports of ongoing killings, abductions and arbitrary arrests of members of the Alawite community. The Alawites are a religious minority to which former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad belongs. They sometimes occupied prime slots in the deposed regime but also suffered subjugation by the Assads along with Syria's other ethnic and religious minorities. Questions around the new Sunni Islamist government's involvement in the killings or its inability to protect the Alawites deepened a sense of mistrust among Syria's minorities at a time when the new leaders are struggling to consolidate their control and unify the country. Sectarian clashes erupted last month in southern Syria between ethnic Druze and Arab Bedouin. Druze accused government forces of colluding with the Bedouin. The area remains tense. Syria's government has vowed to hold perpetrators of sectarian violence accountable. Last month, a government investigatory committee reported that it had preliminarily found 298 people from military factions and 265 linked to armed militias with ties to the Assad regime who committed sectarian attacks. On Thursday, the U.N. commission welcomed the government's actions but stressed that more needs to be done to bring justice and prevent future attacks. Dow Jones The Wall Street Journal Far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich says construction plan 'finally buries the idea,' as Australia, France, UK prepare to recognise statehood. The Wall Street Journal Europe's largest wave of prisoner exchanges since World War II was set in motion when a Ukrainian soldier reached into the pocket of a dead Russian officer and found a phone.
ABC News
2 days ago
- ABC News
Military, MAGA and 'anti-government extremist' links behind shadowy Gaza aid agency GHF
The American security contractor listed his new employer as "confidential" but spelled out details of the job online. Michael Reynolds was working on a project he described as a "US-Israel partnership". According to his LinkedIn profile, he previously held a senior role with what a prominent US civil rights legal centre claimed was an "anti-government extremist organisation". In May, Mr Reynolds became a security contractor for a "humanitarian aid program" in Gaza. Further online searches by the ABC identified Mr Reynolds as an employee of UG Solutions, a security provider for a mysterious aid agency embroiled in international controversy. The US and Israel-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) has supplanted the United Nations as the main provider of aid in Gaza, home to about 2.1 million people. Half a million are on the brink of famine and the rest are experiencing emergency levels of hunger, according to the World Food Programme. As Israel faces a groundswell of international pressure amid growing evidence of starvation — which Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu disputes — GHF aid hubs have become known among Palestinians, human rights campaigners and UN-appointed experts as "death traps". Almost 800 people were killed near GHF sites in the first eight weeks of operation, the UN says. Critics say GHF's provision of aid at just four sites on a "first come, first served" basis during restricted hours has exposed huge crowds to the risk of deadly encounters with the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). A former UG Solutions contractor, Anthony Aguilar, went public last month with allegations he witnessed war crimes by IDF soldiers firing on crowds with guns, mortars and tank rounds. Both UG Solutions and GHF denied the claims. A retired US special forces officer, Mr Aguilar said the chequered backgrounds of some security contractors around him fed his concern about a lack of professionalism among those delivering aid in Gaza. Many had been recruited from the ranks of a US military motorcycle club, "Infidels MC", he said. Sami Muamar, a Palestinian-born educator in Brisbane, says he has implored family members living in southern Gaza to avoid the GHF aid site at Khan Younis altogether. Instead, he sends money for them to buy food at inflated prices on the black market. "It costs me a lot of money, we pay probably $50 per kilo of flour right now," he says. "I said I don't want you to risk anybody's life, just to stay home. Israel blocked all aid to Gaza for 11 weeks from March 2 to May 21, banning staff from the UN's own relief agency from entering the strip over contested claims of Hamas infiltration. It says the new scheme stops Hamas profiteering from aid. However, an internal US government analysis reportedly found no evidence of this happening with US aid, findings that were challenged by the White House. US members of Congress have raised concerns about the "militarisation" of aid through GHF's involvement with both the IDF and armed US contractors, and its lack of experience delivering humanitarian aid. Many observers say aid providers should be impartial and independent of military forces. Australian lawyer Chris Sidoti, who co-chaired the UN Commission of Inquiry into the Occupied Palestinian Territory and Israel, says the secrecy around GHF raises suspicions about its true purpose. "No one really knows where [GHF] came from, who set it up, whose idea it was, who's funding it, and where they're sourcing their personnel," Mr Sidoti told the ABC. "Except, we do know that a number of the American security guards are former military personnel, so whether that means that they've totally divorced themselves from any contact with the military — or for example with the CIA — is something that no one knows. GHF planned to set up a Swiss bank account option for donors but settled on registration in the secretive US tax haven of Delaware in February. Its executive director, former US Marine Jake Wood, quit before its aid hubs even opened. "I am proud of the work I oversaw, including developing a pragmatic plan that could feed hungry people, address security concerns about diversion, and complement the work of longstanding NGOs in Gaza," Mr Wood said in a statement. "However, it is clear that it is not possible to implement this plan while also strictly adhering to the humanitarian principles of humanity, neutrality, impartiality, and independence, which I will not abandon." He was replaced by Reverend Johnnie Moore, a "close ally" of US President Donald Trump, according to Democrat lawmakers, and a leader of the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews. GHF claimed to have launched operations with almost $US120 million ($183 million) of funding from "other government donors". Israel denied it was among them, despite reports that the government covertly poured about $US280 million into the GHF "aid mechanism". The US state department approved a $US30m grant to GHF in June, reportedly despite objections from USAID officials, including one who found it failed to meet "minimum technical or budgetary standards". Democrat lawmakers say this is "troubling" and that GHF aid hubs appear to "operate at a reduced capacity at an exorbitant cost" way beyond those of "experienced humanitarian organizations". They have demanded an investigation of GHF and say full disclosure of its funding is "imperative". GHF runs its aid hubs in Gaza with two private American firms — Safe Reach Solutions and UG Solutions — providing security and logistics. The online footprints of some of these contractors offer a glimpse of GHF's close alignment with the US and Israeli governments. They are also a window into the backgrounds of some of those now responsible for delivering most of the aid in Gaza. According to his LinkedIn profile, contractor Michael Reynolds's role with UG Solutions includes ensuring "the safety and operational continuity of US and Israeli personnel". It also involves following "US Department of State and host nation security directives" and coordinating "closely with multinational military [and] governmental partners". Anthony Aguilar told the ABC that he recognised Mr Reynolds as one of those providing "static site" security for GHF in southern Gaza. He said Mr Reynolds's role was "crowd control" and that he was "armed with a fully automatic rifle, a combat pistol, stun grenades, tear gas and riot baton". Mr Reynolds previously worked for Mayhem Solutions Group, an Arizona-based security and intelligence outfit that was involved in reconnaissance patrols of the Mexican border and was associated with the hard right of US President Donald Trump's MAGA movement. Mr Reynolds was "vice-president of global risk solutions" for Mayhem when it was alleged to be an "anti-government extremist organisation" by the Southern Poverty Law Centre (SPLC) in 2022. SPLC has been monitoring and taking legal action against extremist groups since the 1970s, and partnered with law enforcement including the FBI. SPLC's claims about Mayhem would place it in the same category as militias such as the Oath Keepers, whose leader was jailed for seditious conspiracy over the January 6 insurrection in Washington before Mr Trump pardoned him. Mayhem was reportedly paid up to $US20 million by a Texas state contractor to help transport immigrants and asylum seekers interstate in what a whistleblower claimed were "disgusting and inhuman" conditions. Mayhem also shared intelligence and data on border crossings with The America Project, an organisation that was co-founded by former Trump national security advisor Lieutenant General Michael Flynn and funded political candidates who denied the results of the 2020 US election. SPLC claims "anti-government groups" such as Mayhem are "part of the anti-democratic hard-right movement". "They believe the federal government is tyrannical, and they traffic in conspiracy theories about an illegitimate government of leftist elites seeking a 'New World Order.'" A spokesman for UG Solutions did not directly address questions about specific employees. He said the company "hires only experienced professionals — primarily former US Special Operations Forces and intelligence personnel — who have demonstrated years of operational excellence". "Each individual undergoes extensive vetting, reference checks, and must meet our stringent standards for weapons proficiency and operational conduct prior to deployment, including qualifying on their weapons. "Every team member undergoes comprehensive background checks, and only qualified, vetted individuals are deployed on UG Solutions operations." UG Solutions's chief executive is a former US Army Special Forces soldier and its "head of talent acquisition" was an army counterintelligence officer. Neither man could be reached by phone. The ABC spoke briefly to a former US Army staff sergeant employed by UG Solutions as an "international humanitarian security officer". "I can't give a comment at this time, thank you." GHF's other security provider, Safe Reach Solutions, was founded by former senior CIA operative Philip Reilly. Mr Reilly was the deputy chief of Operation Jawbreaker, the CIA's response to the 9/11 attacks in 2001, and was then among the first US agents on the ground in Afghanistan, where he became chief of "the largest [CIA] station in the world at the time". Until last December, he was also a senior adviser at Boston Consulting Group, where two senior partners reportedly met with Israeli officials to work out how GHF would operate and set prices for the security contractors. Boston sacked the partners in June, saying the work for GHF was "unauthorised". Mr Reilly's employees now include a former Pentagon official who led a review of close-combat operations during the first Trump presidency, a former US State Department official who became an Air Force intelligence officer, and a former US Army logistics officer who advised the Palestinian Authority on vehicle and small arms maintenance. For all that, the US members of Congress demanding an investigation say they have "serious concerns" that GHF and its partners, with no prior humanitarian experience … could become the sole or primary aid provider in Gaza". Mohamed Duar, Amnesty International Australia's spokesperson on the occupied Palestinian territories, says GHF is an "illegitimate and inhumane aid agency" that was never going to replace the work of others in Gaza, including the UN's relief agencies. "The alarming concern is that GHF puts Israeli forces and possibly paid mercenaries in charge of aid delivery," he says. "Humanitarian aid principles should never be politicised or weaponised." Mr Duar offers the grim prediction that "more people will die from starvation than will die from bombardment to date". The Israeli military campaign has killed more than 60,000 Palestinians in almost 22 months, according to the Gaza health ministry. It was triggered by Hamas's attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, which killed about 1,200 people and took 251 hostage — 49 of them still held in Gaza, with 20 believed to be alive — by Israeli tallies. Mr Sidoti says the failures of GHF raise the possibility that it was merely a ploy to pay lip service to international concerns. "The killings continue. The whole exercise has been an absolute shambles," he says.
ABC News
3 days ago
- ABC News
Peter Greste on Israel's strike on journalists
Sam Hawley: Earlier this week, five Al Jazeera journalists were killed in an Israeli strike in Gaza. Israel confirmed it had targeted one of the men it says was the head of a Hamas terrorist cell. His employer denies that. So who's telling the truth? Today, former Al Jazeera journalist and executive director of the Alliance for Journalists' Freedom, Peter Greste, on the problems that arise when foreign reporters are blocked from covering a war. I'm Sam Hawley on Gadigal land in Sydney. This is ABC News Daily. News report: This is Al Jazeera breaking news just coming out. Sad breaking news out of Gaza where Al Jazeera journalist Anas al-Sharif has just been killed in what appears to be a targeted Israeli strike. Anas was killed after a tent for journalists was hit outside the main gate of the hospital. The 28-year-old was a key source of news from Gaza City and the north for international audiences since Israel's war on the strip began some 22 months ago. Sam Hawley: Peter, in Gaza on Monday, there was a funeral procession for five of them was Anas al-Sharif. Just tell me about him. Who was he? Peter Greste: Anas was one of the most prominent, most recognisable Palestinian journalists and videographers. He was working for Al Jazeera Arabic. He was a 28-year-old journalist, married, he had two kids. He was part of a Reuters team that won a Pulitzer Prize for breaking news photography. Clearly someone who had a very high profile, but he was also accused by the Israelis of being associated with Hamas. News report: Israel says it deliberately targeted their tent and have accused one of the correspondents, Anas al-Sharif, of belonging to Hamas. The UN, the Al Jazeera network and the Committee to Protect Journalists have condemned the attack and rejected the accusation, saying there is no credible evidence of this. Sam Hawley: Yeah, the Israeli military says that Anas al-Sharif was a Hamas operative who'd previously actually launched rockets at Israel. That's their claim. Peter Greste: That is their claim. We haven't seen any evidence to substantiate that. The Israelis have shown documents that claim to show some kind of connection between Anas and Hamas. Those documents certainly don't support the claim that he was an active member of Hamas. But there are a couple of points I think I really need to make. The first is that any journalist working in a place like Gaza is going to have a relationship with the power that controls a region like that. You can't avoid it. I mean, you're going to have their numbers in your contacts books, you're going to have a record of phone calls to them, of communications with them, you're going to have meetings with them. And particularly when they are the power that controls movement in a place like Gaza. So you're inevitably going to have to have a close working relationship with them. That doesn't make you an active member. And we haven't seen any evidence from the Israelis that he was actively involved in terrorist operations. It seems highly circumstantial at best. And even if he was in some way involved with Hamas, that is not the justification for a bombing, a targeted killing like this. Sam Hawley: He'd even written Anas his own obituary, his own will, I suppose, if you like, fearing that he would be killed, didn't he? Peter Greste: Yes, he did. And that was after the Israeli authorities had already accused him of being associated with Hamas. He knew that there was a very good chance that he would be targeted. It seems that he was right in that regard. I guess the thing is that whatever the Israelis say about Anas in particular, there is a really disturbing pattern of attacks, of strikes against working journalists. There have been bomb attacks on the homes of journalists. There've been attacks on journalists who've been working with clearly marked body armour and in clearly marked vehicles. The Israelis have always accused them of being involved in terrorism in some form. And we don't have any specific evidence, the Israelis have never produced any clear-cut evidence to substantiate those allegations. The Israelis, of course, always deny that they target journalists, always deny that they target civilians. But what we have is a clear pattern of circumstantial evidence that, at the very least, demands independent investigation and independent inquiry to get to the bottom of the matter, because it is very difficult from the outside to look at that circumstantial evidence and to agree that the Israelis are, in fact, simply operating to attack and kill terrorists. Sam Hawley: Well, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists, in the 22 months of the war, more than 180 Palestinian journalists have actually been killed. Peter Greste: That's a huge number. And again, to be clear, the CPJ's numbers are very, very conservative. Other press freedom organisations put the number at far higher. But regardless of how you do the maths, again, it's hard to escape the conclusion that the Israelis are targeting journalists. Sam Hawley: Mm. Alright, well, Peter, of course, you worked for Al Jazeera leading up to your imprisonment in Egypt. It does so much good journalism, we know that, right around the world, but Israel accuses it of being the mouthpiece of Hamas and it actually banned the network operating in Israel last year. What do we know about the network's perspective, particularly within the Middle East? Peter Greste: Look, I've never seen anything to suggest that Al Jazeera... Certainly, while I was working with them, never saw anything to suggest that the network has a policy of supporting Hamas or Islamist organisations. But having said that, you've got to remember that any news organisation tends to view the world through the lens of the place where its headquarters is. The ABC sees and understands and interprets the world, through an Australian-centric view. The same with the BBC, the same with CNN and The New York Times. They all see the world from the perspective of the country that they're anchored in, and that is the case with Al Jazeera, which understands and interprets the world from Qatar. Now, Al Jazeera also has a really extensive network of correspondents across the Middle East, in particular. They've got very strong relationships with groups all over Gaza. And so, inevitably, it is going to be taking a view from inside Gaza. And remember, too, that if you're sitting... If you're a Palestinian, you're sitting at the sharp end of the Israeli attacks over the past couple of years, you're also going to see and report on the effects of those attacks from a position that's incredibly sympathetic to the people that you're working with. That's just a function of perspective. It does not invalidate the truth of what they're reporting. It does not make them propagandists for Hamas. It simply makes them reporters who are covering the story on the ground as they see and experience it. There are going to be critics, and Israel and a lot of Israeli supporters will accuse them of being involved in promoting Hamas propaganda. But I think that's a pretty long bow to draw, particularly when it seems as though anybody who is creating a narrative that runs counter to the Israeli view of things has been accused of being propagandists or supporters of Hamas in some way. Sam Hawley: Mm. Well, Peter, as we know, the only journalists who are able to cover the war on the ground in Gaza are Palestinian, that is, the people that are actually living there, because Israel has barred foreign journalists from entering Gaza. That helps Israel, does it, control the narrative? Is that why it does it? Peter Greste: Well, yeah. It's certainly hard to come to any other conclusion. The Israelis, as you said, have repeatedly refused to let foreign journalists in. And just to be clear, I'm one of the earliest signatories on a petition by almost 1,000 international journalists demanding access for foreign correspondents into Gaza. That's not because we want to diminish the work of the Palestinians or somehow claim that they are inherently biased. But the only way we're going to get information that people will be able to trust, that we'll be able to see as independent of either the Palestinians or Hamas or the Israelis, is if we are able to get foreign correspondents into Gaza, working independently as witnesses and reporters. Now, the Israelis, as you said, have repeatedly refused that. They say it's because they can't give security guarantees to the foreign correspondents. But it also does seem very much to be about controlling the flow of information and the reporting that comes out of there. Sam Hawley: So, without international journalists on the ground, as you say, it does allow doubts to be raised about the legitimacy of the images and the reporting that emerges from there. Peter, we saw that most recently, I guess, with this case with The New York Times, where it published a photo of an emaciated child with its mother, which Israel then claimed was fake. Just tell me about that. The New York Times did have to clarify that image. Peter Greste: That's right. They said that the image was, in fact, of a child with a pre-existing condition that was exacerbated by hunger, by starvation. And I think that underlines the central point, that it's incredibly difficult for news organisations like Al Jazeera, and The New York Times, the BBC, or even the ABC, to report accurately on what's going on there without having people on the ground who are capable of verifying and following up those sorts of images and those sorts of details. Sam Hawley: Benjamin Netanyahu this week accused the international press of having bought Hamas's propaganda hook, line and sinker. Benjamin Netanyahu, Israeli Prime Minister: Everything that I told you could be verified easily, but it hasn't. And the international press has bought hook, line and sinker. Hamas statistics, Hamas claims, Hamas forgeries and Hamas photographs. Sam Hawley: I mean, he's threatening to sue The New York Times, although the paper does stick by its reporting. It does defend its reporting. Benjamin Netanyahu, Israeli Prime Minister: I'm looking right now into the possibility of a governmental suit against The New York Times, because this is outrageous. It's the kind of malignant lies that were levelled at the Jewish people in the Middle Ages, we won't suffer. We won't allow it to go unchallenged. And this is the purpose of this press conference. Peter Greste: Yeah, and again, the answer would be simply just for the Israelis to allow foreign journalists into Gaza to work alongside the Palestinians to be able to report freely and unhindered. And that's the easiest way of resolving this crisis. Sam Hawley: Just tell me how it works now, though. How do media outlets like The New York Times or the ABC, for that matter, verify the images that are actually coming out from the journalists on the ground in Gaza? How can they be certain of the veracity of the information or the images that are being provided? Peter Greste: There's a whole host of tools that news organisations will use. They'll use the metadata associated with the images to confirm locations and times of particular shots. They'll also use other clues in the photographs that can confirm the time and location of the shots, position of the sun, shadows, and other details in the background of the photographs and so on. And they can generally do a pretty good job. But that kind of verification, as I said, is never going to be a substitute for being there on the ground and being able to take the photographs yourself. Sam Hawley: Well, Peter, as an international correspondent or a former correspondent, yourself, you have covered a number of conflicts. The work is vital, though, as you found, of course, when you were jailed in Egypt and at other times, it can be incredibly dangerous, can't it? Peter Greste: Yes, and I've not only been in prison myself, but I've also lost friends and colleagues in covering these kinds of conflicts. Journalists who go there know and understand the risks that they're taking. The journalists that are covering these places are highly trained, often highly experienced, and they know full well what is at stake. You've got to let the journalists themselves make informed choices about whether or not they're willing to go. And if they are willing to go, then they need to be given the freedom to do it. Sam Hawley: And history shows us how important that is, right? From Vietnam to Iraq and beyond. Peter Greste: Yeah, absolutely. And we've seen reporting change the way that governments respond to conflicts. We saw the way that the public turned against the Vietnam War over time because of the reporting. We've seen the way that the public has turned against the wars in places like Iraq and Afghanistan. That only comes from good reporting. Sometimes the governments don't always like it, but that's a part of the way that democracy works. Sam Hawley: All right. Well, Peter, as you mentioned, news organisations and journalists across the world, including the ABC, are calling on Israel to allow journalists to move in and out of Gaza to report from there. How important is that at this particular point now? Peter Greste: Look, I think it's increasingly vital. We've got claims and counterclaims about the levels of starvation and malnutrition that are taking place inside Gaza. As you've mentioned earlier, Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli Prime Minister, has repeatedly accused the foreign press of swallowing Hamas propaganda hook, line and sinker. The only way we can get to the truth of the matter is by having independent eyes and ears on the ground in Gaza reporting what they see is taking place. Palestinian journalists are doing incredible work, but they will always be seen as vulnerable to allegations that they are working as Hamas propagandists and not independent eyewitnesses. It's unfortunate, but foreign correspondents are the only ones capable of doing that. Sam Hawley: Peter Greste is the Executive Director of the Alliance for Journalists' Freedom and a Professor of Journalism at Macquarie University. This episode was produced by Sydney Pead. Audio production by Sam Dunn. Our supervising producer is David Coady. I'm Sam Hawley. Thanks for listening.
