The Massacre of the Word: The Arrest of Nasser Laham and the Dissection of Truth

At the moment Palestinian journalist Nasser Laham was arrested from his home in Bethlehem, Israel was not executing a security measure but rather implementing a systematic policy: suppressing the Palestinian narrative, silencing witnesses, and slaughtering the word.

The arrest of Nasser, one of the most prominent Palestinian journalistic voices, is not an exception but a new episode in a long bloody saga that has affected Palestinian journalism for decades.

Nasser Laham: The Voice of Truth that Terrified the Occupation

Dr. Nasser Laham, director of Al-Mayadeen's office in Palestine and editor-in-chief of Ma'an news agency, is not just a journalist; he is a witness to the major transformations in the Palestinian cause, a bearer of the narrative, and a political analyst with a wide Arab following.

On the dawn of July 7, 2025, the occupying forces stormed his house and arrested him without charges, confiscating his journalistic equipment. His arrest is not legal but a punishment for his refusal to choose silence.

From Shireen to Nasser: Everyone Who Tells is Targeted

In May 2022, Palestinian journalist Shireen Abu Akleh was targeted by Israeli sniper fire despite wearing a press vest and was killed live on air.

Now, three years later, another prominent media figure—Nasser Laham—is being arrested, not for any reason other than his insistence on conveying the complete picture.

This is how the occupation deals with journalism:
a bullet or a cell… there is no third option.

Gaza: The Graveyard of the Camera and Sound

Since the onset of the aggression on Gaza in October 2023, Gaza has become the most dangerous place in the world for journalists. According to the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ):
    •    185 Palestinian journalists have been martyred by mid-2025.
    •    More than 113 journalists have been injured.
    •    86 journalists have been arrested, some of whom have disappeared without a trace.

The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) described what is happening as:
Systematic elimination of Palestinian media voices, meaning: systematic extermination of Palestinian media voices.

Some journalists have been killed while broadcasting live, while others have been targeted inside their homes with their families and children. Correspondents are treated as security threats, and cameras are seen as bombs and tools of war.

International press prohibited from entering Gaza: a crime of opacity

Since October 2023, Israel has been preventing international journalists from entering Gaza in a blatant attempt to suffocate the truth, which is a crime of silence regarding the genocide, execution of children and women, destruction of hospitals, schools, and universities, killing international staff, shelling refugee tents, and targeting those seeking flour from Gaza’s agency.
Not only are Palestinian journalists targeted, but the entire world is barred from seeing the truth, and major media institutions remain silent, including the International Federation of Journalists.
This systematic ban has a clear objective:
To control the global media narrative and keep the crimes without witnesses.
These are not random crimes but a persistent policy since the Nakba.

Since 1948, Israel has implemented repressive policies against journalism:
    •    Closed Palestinian newspapers.
    •    Carried out arbitrary arrests of journalists.
    •    Blocked broadcasts and restricted event coverage and pursued international correspondents.

Today, this repression has turned into a full-scale assault on Palestinian media, especially in Gaza and the West Bank.
The message is clear:
Those who expose the crimes of the occupation become direct targets.

To the International Federation of Journalists, CPJ, and human rights institutions:
We address you from the heart of the Palestinian wound, not only for condemnation but for demanding immediate action:
We demand:
    1.    To open an independent international investigation into the occupation's crimes against Palestinian journalists and classify them as crimes against journalism.
    2.    To allow international press into the Gaza Strip immediately and end the media siege.
    3.    To immediately release Dr. Nasser Laham and all journalists who are arbitrarily detained.
    4.    To launch an international campaign titled “The Massacre of the Word” to document and expose these violations.

Because the word cannot be defeated

The arrest of Nasser Laham, the killing of Shireen Abu Akleh, and the martyrdom of hundreds of journalists in Gaza will not silence the Palestinian voice.
The pen may be broken, the camera may be besieged, and the truth may be assassinated…
But it always returns stronger, more truthful, and purer…
The word is being slaughtered in Palestine
But we will not be silent…
And we will not forgive…
And we will not forget…

 This article is directed to the International Federation of Journalists, the United Nations, and everyone who believes in freedom of expression and the right of peoples to have their stories told safely…protect journalists.