Journalists assaulted by Israeli forces in Biet Jala

Just after sending an opinion piece to the newspaper about the violence against journalists, this morning I got another information about Israeli soldier's attacks on journalists who covered peaceful marches in the West Bank. Journalits working in the conflict area are always in high risk and should be facilitated with the skill to protect themselves or at least to avoid any attack on them.   Here is the news sent by IFEX - Canada

Journalists assaulted by Israeli forces in Biet Jala
SOURCE: Palestinian Center for Development and Media Freedoms

(MADA/IFEX) - The Israeli occupation forces have continued their attacks on journalists covering peaceful marches in the West Bank. On 20 June 2010, they attacked six journalists: Pal Media cameraman Yousef Shaheen, ABA photographer Najeh Hashlamoun, European Pressphoto Agency (EPA) photographer Abdel-Hafiz Hashlamoun, APA photographer Ma'moun Wazwaz, AP photographer Nasser Al-Shuokhi and Agence France-Presse photographer Mousa Al-Shaér. The incident took place when they were covering a weekly march against the Israeli separation wall in the town of Biet Jala, in the West Bank. 

Shaheen said he was standing with a group of journalists covering the weekly protest march in Biet Jala when a group of Israeli soldiers approached and began cursing and beating them with sticks, inflicting bruises on both his and his colleagues' legs. Al-Shuokhi said, "The Israeli soldiers used a new method to attack us today. They tried to stop us from filming by beating us with sticks." 

"The journalists were directly targeted. The soldiers left the demonstrators and began to curse and beat us brutally with sticks, injuring most of journalists who were there," Abdel-Hafiz Hashlamoun said. 

The Palestinian Center for Development and Media Freedoms (MADA) condemns the attack on the Palestinian journalists and calls on the international community to pressure the Israeli government to stop these types of aggressive actions.

SOURCE:

Palestinian Center for Development and Media Freedoms

Al-Ersal Street-Alkarmel Building 

3rd floor Office 5 

West Bank, Ramallah 

Palestine 

info (@) madacenter.org 

Phone: +970 2 297 6519

Fax: +970 2 297 6519

Palestinian Center for Development and Media Freedoms

http://www.madacenter.org