People walk along a street in the occupied West Bank city of Jenin on July 4, 2023, a day after an Israeli military operation. (Photo by Ronaldo SCHEMIDT / AFP)
Doha, Qatar: Al Araby TV Network has condemned in the strongest terms the deliberate and direct targeting of its camera crew in the Jenin refugee camp by the Israeli occupation army, while covering the Israeli military operation in the camp yesterday.
Just before 11am local time yesterday, and while Al Araby TV reporter Amid Shehadeh and cameraman Rabi Munir were reporting live from inside the camp, an Israeli military vehicle pulled up in a nearby street and its soldiers then started shooting live ammunition at the camera and transmitter.
Shooting continued until the transmitter was blown up and the camera fell off the tripod, said the network in a statement.
Meanwhile, journalists took shelter in a nearby house, where they remained trapped until they were escorted out of the house by the Red Cross and Red Crescent and evacuated by ambulance to Khalil Suleiman Governmental Hospital.
Furthermore, Al Araby TV cameraman Osama Saleh was directly targeted with gas bombs on the eastern borders of Gaza Strip, sustaining injuries in his leg for which he subsequently received medical treatment on site.
This direct attack, recorded and documented by media outlets, reveals a blatant targeting of journalist crews and their equipment for no reason other than deliberately harming journalists, hindering their work and disrupting their coverage, which is a clear violation of international human rights norms and standards guaranteeing the safety of journalists.
Al Araby TV Network condemned the use of any kind of force against journalists, as well as any restrictions on their work intended to intimidate or compel them to abandon their legitimate right to perform their journalistic duties and cover events.
There can be no doubt that the direct use of live ammunition against our colleagues, endangering their lives, trapping them in a house under a hail of bullets, as well as damaging their equipment are all abominable practices that should be roundly condemned by human rights and media organisations all over the world.
“We call on all colleagues, as well human rights and media organizations, to join us in expressing their unequivocal rejection of these practices and their full support for freedom of the press and the absolute necessity of guaranteeing the safety of journalists,” said Al Araby TV Network.
“We, at Al Araby TV Network, will remain steadfast in our commitment to the protection of our colleagues’ safety and our commitment to our viewers to maintain the highest standards of free professional journalism.”
