Turkish news crew attacked with feces in Jerusalem ultra-Orthodox area

A Turkish news crew was attacked in Jerusalem’s ultra-Orthodox Mea Shearim neighborhood on Wednesday, police said.

Recent months have seen ultra-Orthodox protesters against government-ordered coronavirus restrictions attack local news crews and reporters for covering community violations of the rules on multiple occasions.

According to the Israel Police, the windows of the reporters’ vehicle were smashed and excrement was thrown inside. Police were able to reach the crew and extract them from the car.

The statement did not say how many Turkish reporters were involved in the incident or which station they were from. No injuries were reported.

Police opened an investigation and began searching for suspects, the statement said.

The incident followed a deadly clash nearby on Sunday night when a minibus driver hit and killed by a man as he was driving to flee an allegedly anti-Arab ultra-Orthodox mob in the neighborhood.

Ibrahim Hamed, the driver, was released from police custody on Tuesday. He told Channel 13 News, “The death of Itamar Ben Abu breaks my heart.”

Hamed is facing manslaughter charges, despite ostensibly being a victim of racially motivated violence himself. Security camera footage showed him fleeing into a store after the accident and pleading for help.

At the time of the incident, dozens of protesters were blocking traffic and hurling bottles at vehicles in a rally against coronavirus lockdown rules.