Reporters Without Borders:'Palestinian Journalists Repeatedly Targeted By Israel'

Israel is trying to silence the press.

Demonstration in Ni'ilin - photographed 11 December 2009 Courtesy: Activestills.org

(JERUSALEM) - It stated that these incidents “continue without impunity”, and that the soldiers involved in the attacks are rarely brought to justice, and that the superiors of the soldiers endorse this violence.

The movement added that it is time the army stops these violations against the reporters.

Journalist Harun Amayra of Falestin TV was wounded in his foot by shots fired by an Israeli soldier while Amayra was covering a peaceful protest marking Land Day in Dodrus village, near Ramallah.

The incident took place on 30 March; at least 10 protesters were wounded. Amayra was moved to a local hospital in Ramallah.

Furthermore, soldiers detained a crew working for the satellite TV station, Al-Quds, while they were heading to Jerusalem on 25 March to present a live broadcast from Jerusalem. The crew was released several hours later. The presenter, Raed Fathi, was banned from entering Jerusalem for a week.

“Falestin TV reporter Harun Amayra and cameraman Najib Sharoneh were doing a report in the village of Badras on 19 March when Israeli soldiers accosted them, hit them and then detained them for nearly four hours”, Reporters Without Borders added.

On the same say, soldiers banned journalists from entering Ni’lin village, near Ramallah, while the reporters were on their way to cover the weekly nonviolent protest against the Wall.

Also, a soldiers fired a tear-gas bomb at AP cameraman, Nasser Al Shyoukhi, while he was covering clashes between local youths and Israeli soldiers in the southern West Bank city of Hebron on 17 March. Salem-News.com reported yesterday that a soldier who killed an unarmed protester with a gas bomb was just acquitted for the death.

Soldiers also fired rubber-coated bullets and gas bombs at photographer Issam Al Rimawi while he was covering events at the Qalandya roadblock that the army made into a terminal.

On 5 March, troops fired rubber-coated bullets at three Palestinian cameramen identified as Mahmoud Alyan, Mahfouz Abu Turk (both work for the Al Quds daily), and Ahmad Al Gharably who works for the AFP.

The three reporters were covered clashes between soldiers and Palestinian youths outside the Al Aqsa Mosque in occupied East Jerusalem.

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Source: Reporters sans frontières (Reporters Without Borders)