Reporters Without Borders condemns a string of violent attacks against Palestinian journalists

Reporters Without Borders today protested to Israeli Defence Minister, Shaul Mofaz, about a string of violent attacks by the Israeli Army against Palestinian journalists in the northern town of Nablus on the West Bank between 10-15 June 2004. "The methods the Israeli Army uses to hamper the international media from covering its clashes with Palestinians over the construction of its security fence are unacceptable," the international press freedom organisation said. "The army last week resorted to intimidation and threats and fired tear gas canisters directly at journalists, injuring two of them. It is evident that during operations, the Israeli Army systematically obstructs the work of Palestinian journalists. They are also heedless of their safety, taking unsufficient precautions to avoid injuring these civilians, who have to be there in order to report on the situation," it added. Palestinian photographer Alaa Badarneh of the European Press Agency (EPA) went to al-Zawiyeh village, around 30 kms south of Nablus on 10 June to cover local Palestinian protests against the building of the security fence. He described how soldiers broke up the demonstration with tear gas. One soldier around 40 metres away targeted him, firing a tear gas canister directly at his legs. Badarneh was picked up at the scene in a private car and after going through several Israeli roadblocks he reached Nablus hospital where he was kept under observation for the day. He had been clearly identifiable as a journalist, wearing a fluorescent jacket marked "PRESS". Palestinian photographer Jaafar Ishtayeh, working for Agence France-Presse (AFP), was slightly injured in the back by a tear gas canister in al-Zawiyeh village on 13 June. He was taken to hospital and discharged after treatment but was unable to resume work for several days. Associated Press (AP) photographer, Nasser Ishtayeh, was also in al-Zawiyeh during the demonstrations. He arrived there after waiting more than an hour at a military checkpoint and was threatened by soldiers. He reported that one of them said to him, "Watch out, we have already injured two of your friends. You better take care if you don't want to be the third". Photographer Abed Qusini of the British Reuters news agency narrowly avoided arrest on the same day in the same village. He said he was with a group of Palestinian journalists and filming, when a soldier ordered his arrest on the grounds that the area had been declared a "closed military zone". Qusini, who speaks Hebrew, asked to see the written order and to photograph it to show to Reuters that all journalists were banned from the area. One soldier and then a second grabbed his wrists and tried to seize his equipment. He struggled and tried to use his mobile phone to call for help. An officer then ordered his arrest and two soldiers attached his hand to their vehicle with plastic handcuffs. Fifteen minutes later he was freed but threatened with further arrest unless he immediately left the scene. The following day, 15 June 2004, Qusini was working in Nablus, covering an Israeli Army incursion into the town (photo). He was among a group of around a dozen journalists who were covering a military operation around a building. The soldiers used loudhailers to insult them and threatened to destroy their equipment unless they left the area. Qusini protested and asked to see the order that it was a "closed military zone". An angry officer called for his arrest and he was bundled into an Israeli jeep and his jacket was ripped off and used to blindfold him. His colleagues only secured his release on the condition that they all immediately left the area. In a previous letter to Israeli Defence Minister Shaul Mofaz, Reporters Without Borders called for an "impartial, swift and rigorous" investigation into the shooting of Agence France-Presse photographer Mahmoud Hams, 25, who was wounded on 5 May 2004 in the Gaza Strip. The organisation has so far received no response.