Israeli
forces attack farmers, Press TV crew in Gaza
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17
December, 2012
Israeli
forces have opened fire on Palestinian farmers and Press TV crew in
the southern Gaza Strip, Press TV reports.
Press
TV correspondent Ashraf Shannon said Israeli forces fired on the
farmers and Press TV crew near the border fence in the Khan Yunis
area.
Shannon
said, “Israel troops were standing 200 to 250 meters away from us,
and it was clear that we were journalists, standing right behind the
farmers."
But
"all of a sudden, they started shooting [at us]. No one was
threatening them. No one was firing. No one was throwing stones at
them.”
On
November 21, Press TV correspondent Akram al-Sattari was injured in
an Israeli airstrike on a hotel that had housed journalists in the
Gaza Strip. The day marked the start of an Egypt-mediated ceasefire
agreement, which ended an eight-day-long Israeli war on the coastal
sliver that had killed at least 166 Palestinians.
Israeli
soldiers assault two Reuters cameramen
Israeli
soldiers punched two Reuters cameramen and forced them to strip in
the street, before letting off a tear gas canister in front of them,
leaving one of them needing hospital treatment.
13
December, 2012
Israel's
military said on Thursday it took the allegations seriously, but
offered no explanation for the assault that occurred on Wednesday
evening in the heart of Hebron.
"The
regional brigade commander was ordered to open an investigation,"
Israeli Defense Forces spokeswoman Avital Leibovich said in an email.
No further information will be provided until the investigation is
complete.
Yousri
Al Jamal and Ma'amoun Wazwaz said a foot patrol stopped them as they
were driving to a nearby checkpoint where a Palestinian teenager had
just been shot dead by an Israeli border guard.
Their
car was clearly marked 'TV' and they were both wearing blue flak
jackets with 'Press' emblazoned on the front.
The
soldiers forced them to leave the vehicle and punched them, striking
them with the butts of their guns. They accused them of working for
an Israeli NGO, B'Tselem, which documents human rights violations in
the occupied West Bank, the Reuters cameramen said.
Locals
say B'Tselem has given a number of Palestinians video cameras so they
can film soldiers and settlers who live in this divided city. The NGO
was not immediately available for comment.
The
soldiers did not let the men produce their official ID papers and
forced them to strip down to their underwear, making them kneel on
the road with their hands behind their heads, the cameramen said.
Two
other Palestinian journalists working for local news organizations,
including a satellite television station affiliated to the Islamist
group Hamas, were also stopped and forced to the ground.
One
of the soldiers then dropped a tear gas canister between the men and
the IDF patrol ran away. The four journalists scrambled clear and
Jamal and Wazwaz got to their car, which had rapidly filled up with
tear gas, they said.
They
tried to drive away, but said they only got around 200 meters before
they had to stop and exit the vehicle because of the choking gas. The
soldiers then fired more tear gas in their direction.
Wazwaz
was overcome by the fumes and was taken to hospital by ambulance. He
was released later the same night.
The
Israeli soldiers took two gas masks and a video camera from their
car. The undamaged camera was later found abandoned further up the
road.
"We
deplore the mistreatment of our journalists and have registered our
extreme dismay with the Israeli military authorities," said
Stephen J. Adler, editor-in-chief of Reuters News.
Tensions
have been running particularly high in Hebron in the past week
following repeated clashes between stone-throwing youths and
soldiers.
Muhammad
al-Salameh, 17, was shot dead close to his house in the heart of
Hebron on Wednesday evening after an altercation with border guards
at a nearby checkpoint. Israeli police said he had brandished a gun,
which later proved to be a toy gun.
Some
800 Jewish settlers live among 30,000 Palestinians in the parts of
the old city that are under Israeli control.
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