DUBAI: British journalist Piers Morgan urged the Israeli government at the Arab Media Summit on Wednesday to let international journalists into Gaza.
“It is ridiculous that Israel has the ability to prevent international journalists from reporting that the information and facts that the Israeli government is providing (are) not accurate,” he said.
Morgan said that getting the facts regarding what is happening in Gaza is very difficult for journalists because Israel refuses entry to these media entities.
“Let the journalists in, and then we can work out if what Israel is saying is right. The fact (that) they are not letting them in is very telling,” he added.
Morgan interviewed Egyptian comedian Bassem Youssef in October 2023 when Israel launched its military attack on Gaza.
“Youssef took me on a whole history lesson on the conflict of 75 years. I have been criticized by the Arab world for being pro-Israel. But I have always had more Palestinian supportive guests than any other show in the world, and I did that deliberately,” he added.
His interview with Youssef went viral, accumulating over 23 million views.
Morgan said that his initial understanding and views on the history of Palestine changed after his interview with Youssef.
“My original view was that Israel had the fundamental right and duty to defend itself following the Oct. 7 attack. But my question from the start was always, ‘What is a proportionate response?’ To me, what has been happening in recent months, especially since the blockade and the bombardments, has crossed a line,” he said.
“My position has evolved and moved, but I’m not overly defensive of the initial position I took at the start. I always try to be firm and fair and offer both sides a platform to try and get a solution,” he added.
“It’s not my job to take sides in any of these stories. My job is to be a journalist and to hold everyone accountable and try to get to the truth and establish facts,” he said.
