High Court again extends deadline for state to explain why it won’t give press free access to Gaza

The High Court of Justice gives the state yet another extension to respond to a petition by the Foreign Press Association (FPA) demanding unfettered media access to Gaza, saying this will be the last extension and scolding the state for its repeated delays.

Justice Ofer Grosskopf points out that the state agreed to file its response by November 23 but has already requested and received two extensions, which gave it until today to update the court on its position on granting journalists free access to Gaza, in light of the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas that went into effect on October 10.

“Now the respondents [the state and the defense minister] are requesting another extension, this time of three weeks, and they [may yet] ask for more. It is not possible to agree to this,” says Grosskopf.

He gives the state until January 4, instead of January 11 as requested, to file its response, and says if the state fails to file its position by then the court will issue a decision regardless.

The latest delays are the most recent in a series stretching back to September 2024, when the FPA filed its second petition requesting unfettered press access to Gaza.