Israel denies entry to Italian photojournalist over 'apartheid state' coverage

An Italian freelance photojournalist has been barred from entering Israel despite having visited the country 15 times before, including on a government-issued press card.

Alessandro Stefanelli attempted to enter Israel via the Karama crossing between Jordan and the occupied West Bank in January but was reportedly held for questioning for five hours before being denied entry.

The Israeli Police subsequently handed him a paper in which they said their decision was because Stefanelli "reports unilaterally against Israel".

According to the statement, Israel also based the decision on Stefanelli’s labelling of Israel’s actions in the West Bank as "apartheid".

Before his latest attempt to enter the occupied territories, Stefanelli had his digital visa rescinded in July last year.

When he spoke to the Israeli embassy in Rome regarding the decision, he was given no explanation for the revocation of his media pass, which had been issued by Israel’s Government Press Office.

Stefanelli has freelanced for major international news organisations including The New Yorker and Bloomberg, as well as national newspapers El Pais in Spain and La Repubblica in Italy.

Stefanelli’s photographs have centred on the effects of the Israeli occupation on Palestinians in the occupied West Bank as well as Bedouin communities in the Negev.

The latest incident comes amid increased efforts by the Israeli government to crack down on foreign media and impose restrictions on local outlets critical of the Netanyahu coalition.

Israel previously passed legislation commonly known as the ‘Al Jazeera Law’ allowing the government to shut down foreign media outlets in the country under the pretext that they were "harming state security". 

Since Israel’s war on Gaza began in October 2023, it has continuously prohibited foreign journalists from entering the besieged territory to report independently on the war. Only journalists embedded with the Israeli military are able to enter.

The UK's National Union of Journalists (NUJ) has condemned Israel’s continued repression of media, saying that it was "a matter of global public interest that not only local but also international journalists bear witness and document the ongoing war in Gaza".

Palestinian journalists have argued Israel’s foreign media ban functions as a policy aimed at controlling the narrative of the war in Gaza and the continuing military occupation.

Multiple other Italian nationals critical of the Israeli government have likewise been declared persona non grata, including UN Special Rapporteur on the Occupied Palestinian Territies, Francesorca Albanese, and Italian activists intercepted by the Israeli navy while on board the Gaza Flotilla aimed at ending the maritime siege on Gaza in October 2025.