Commander of troops seen attacking foreign journalists removed from post

The commander of the Israel Defense Force troops seen assaulting two reporters from a foreign news agency on Friday in the West Bank was removed from his post, the military said late Saturday.

The IDF said earlier that it had launched a probe into the incident in which two AFP journalists were attacked by troops — an attack partly caught on camera — and that disciplinary measures would be taken.

“The preliminary review of the occurrences in Beit Furik revealed that the officer in charge did not conduct himself in accordance to professional expectations. Following the review, the commander was suspended from operational duty.,” the IDF said in a statement.

“The IDF considers the incident grave, and in contravention of its code of ethics and professional standards,” the statement read, adding that the investigation was ongoing.

According to AFP, IDF soldiers seized and destroyed equipment belonging to two of its journalists near Nablus on Friday, and a video journalist with the agency, Italian Andrea Bernardi, was thrown to the ground and jabbed in the side with a weapon. The agency said Bernardi was held down on the ground by a soldier, one knee on his chest, until he managed to show his press card. Bernardi suffered bruised ribs and a facial injury.

AFP said the soldiers pointed their weapons at Bernardi and his colleague, Palestinian photographer Abbas Momani. They also allegedly smashed a video camera and a camera for photographs and took away another camera and a mobile phone. Some of the incident is caught on the video.

At the time both journalists were wearing body armor clearly marked “Press,” AFP said.

After the AFP complaint, the army said that “from the initial investigation it appears that the force did not operate as is expected of them, and [was] in contravention of regulations.”

After the incident on Friday, Army spokesman Colonel Peter Lerner told the agency that the highest levels of command are aware of the incident, including the head of IDF troops in the West Bank.

Earlier Saturday, the Foreign Press Association condemned “in the strongest possible terms” the “deplorable” behavior of Israeli army troops who it said assaulted the two journalists.

The Foreign Press Association (FPA), which works with foreign journalists based in Israel, the West Bank and Gaza, said that while it welcomed the IDF probe, “our concern is that had this not been caught on camera, nothing would be done.”

In the statement, the association said the assault caused several thousand dollars worth of damage.

“Units of the IDF too frequently act with impunity and apparently outside of their orders in direct contradiction with the ideal of high morals Israel’s military says it adheres to. The Foreign Press Association has raised its concerns with the IDF on multiple occasions but seen no discernible change in behavior,” the FPA said.

“It is time for the IDF command to act, to show it respects the freedom of the press and that it has control over the behavior of soldiers on the ground,” it added.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EeePKpeXbOw

The two journalists had been covering clashes between Palestinians and soldiers when some troops took them aside, swore at them in English and told them to stop recording events, AFP said.

Friday’s clashes between Palestinians and troops at Beit Furik came after the funeral of Ahmed Khatatbeh, 26, who died of his wounds after being shot by soldiers near Nablus in the northern West Bank. The army said he and another man had thrown a firebomb at a vehicle on a road to the settlement of Itamar.