Palestine: Attacks on journalists in the West Bank on the rise

The number of attacks by Israeli soldiers and settlers on both Palestinian and foreign journalists in the West Bank has increased in the last month, with journalists being denied access to public spaces, subjected to physical assaults, vandalism of equipment and vehicles, and censorship-related raids. The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) joins its affiliate, the Palestinian Journalists Syndicate (PJS), in strongly condemning this alarming wave of attacks, which threaten press freedom and the safety of journalists, undermining their ability to report freely and independently.

Palestinian journalist wearing a vest marked 'press'walks past Israeli soldiers in Jenin, occupied West Bank. Credit: AFP

On 27 May, Palestinian journalist Issam al-Rimawiwas attacked by Israeli settlersin al-Mughayyir, a village northeast of Ramallah. He was beaten so badly that he lost consciousness. The settlers also stole his mobile phone and camera. The attack was witnessed by Israeli soldiers, who did not react.

In Jenin on 28 May, Israeli soldiers fired warning shotsnear the car in which French journalistAmira Souilemof France 24 and Radio France Internationale, Palestinian journalist Mohammed Mansour, and three other Palestinian colleagues were driving. The car was clearly marked 'press', and all the journalists were carrying filming equipment while wearing vests marked with the word 'press'.

On 2 June, an international group of reporters was stopped by masked Israeli soldiersfrom visiting Masafer Yatta, a cluster of villages on the southern edge of the West Bank, as the subject of an Oscar-winning documentary. The journalists had been invited by the film's co-directors, Yuval Abraham and Basel Adra, to personally witness how much the area has been destroyed as a result of many years of settler violence and house demolitions caused by the army. Israeli soldiers prevented the media workers from entering the area.

On 4 July, Israeli settlers attacked two German media workers, a journalist and a cameraman from the public broadcaster Deutsche Welle (DW) in the Palestinian village of Sinjil, north of Ramallah, according to Middle East Eye, a news outlet. The cameraman and the correspondent who were planning to report on a planned protest against rising settler violence and were wearing marked press jackets, when a group of settlers threw stones at them and chased them away. Their car was badly damaged. At the scene of the attack, other international and Palestinian journalists were present and also forced to flee.

PJS reported that on the same day, a group of settler gangs attacked some of their members, including photojournalist Rajai Al-Khatib, vandalising his car and destroying his press equipmentwhile he was covering the settlers' assault on Palestinian farmers in the village of Sinjil.

On 7 July, veteran journalist Nasser al-Lahham, the office director of Lebanese satellite news TV channel Al Mayadeen, was arrested by Israeli occupation forcesduring a pre-dawn raid on his home in Beit Lahm, southern West Bank. During the raid, Israeli forces perpetrated deliberate acts of vandalism on al-Lahham's home, with local sources reporting destruction of furniture and seizure of personal belongings such as mobile phones. According to his lawyer, the journalist's detention has been extended until 10 July.

IFJ General Secretary Anthony Bellanger said: "The surge of attacks and censorship against Palestinian and foreign journalists in the West Bank is deeply alarming. Journalists must be able to carry out their job free from fear and violence. No journalist should be discriminated against because of their occupation. We once again call on Israeli authorities and the public to uphold press freedom and let journalists report freely.