“Violation of conventions”: Israeli police arrest a journalist


“Violation of conventions”
Israeli police arrest a journalist

During a demonstration in the Arab district of Sheikh Jarrah in Jerusalem, which is annexed by Israel, a correspondent for Al-Jazeera is arrested – even though she is clearly recognizable as a press representative. Now the Israeli police are under fire.

After the violent arrest of a correspondent for the Qatari TV broadcaster Al Jazeera in East Jerusalem, the Israeli police are confronted with serious allegations. “This is a clear violation of the freedom of the press, because this journalist was clearly recognizable as such because of her press vest,” said Sabrina Bennoui, spokeswoman for the organization Reporters Without Borders, the television station. “The Israeli authorities are apparently willing to prevent journalists from doing their job and covering the scene.”

The International Press Institute condemned the arrest on Saturday as “absolutely unacceptable”, while Al-Jazeera himself spoke of a “striking violation of all international conventions”. The correspondent was arrested during a demonstration in the Arab district of Sheikh Jarrah in Jerusalem, which is annexed by Israel, and said she was ill-treated by the police. Her employer accused the security forces of attacking the television crew and destroying their equipment. The journalist later reported that she was treated “like a criminal” and kicked by the police. At the police station, she was accused of kicking a policewoman, but that never happened.

A spokesman for the Israeli police said the woman and a man physically attacked the forces while a demonstration was being broken up. You also refused to identify yourself. However, video recordings of the incident show that the journalist – who, according to Al-Jazeera, has press accreditation from the Israeli government – was wearing a vest with the words “press” on it. According to her own statements, she was released several hours after her arrest – on the condition that she would not enter the district for 15 days.

The situation in Sheikh Jarrah remains tense

Barbara Trionfi of the International Press Institute, an organization to strengthen the freedom of the press, spoke of a terrifying crackdown on the part of the police. “We have seen many targeted attacks by the Israeli forces on journalists in the past weeks and months,” she said, according to Al-Jazeera. “Unfortunately, this is not an isolated incident.”

According to police, security forces were attacked with stones and fireworks during the protests by residents of the neighborhood. The threat of evictions of Palestinian families in Sheikh Jarrah had added to tension prior to the recent escalation of violence in the region.

Even after the start of the ceasefire between Israel and the ruling Hamas in the Gaza Strip on May 21, the protests in Sheikh Jarrah continued. An expected court ruling on the evictions had only been postponed.

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