The Ministry of Information said today that the direct targeting of journalists by the Israeli occupation soldiers during the incursion into the city of Ramallah at dawn today is part of the open aggression against Palestinian journalists and a persistent disregard for all laws and treaties that provide protection for journalists during their work. The ministry said in a statement that the shooting and firing of toxic gas canisters at the media crews, the serious injury of photojournalist Moumen Sumrein, hit with a rubber-coated metal bullet to the head, and the injury of photojournalist Rabi al-Munir with a rubber bullet in the abdomen, requires accountability of the occupation army, which finds it easy to pull the trigger against journalists, and intentionally assaults them. The Ministry urged international bodies and organizations, foremost among them the United Nations Security Council, to translate their decisions regarding the protection of journalists and the accountability of their attackers, and not to wait for another journalist to be killed. The Ministry of Information also said in a different statement that it documented 52 Israeli violations against Palestinian journalists during May that included 27 male journalists, four female journalists and eight crews, among them a WAFA crew composed of photojournalist Mashhour Wehwah, and the driver Ahmad Qazzaz, who were detained at the entrance to the village of Umm al-Khair, in the South Hebron Hills, and prevented from covering an event. The ministry said the violations included shooting directly at the journalists Nasser Shtayyeh, Majdi Shtayyeh, Abdul Haq Bahash, and Ashraf Abu Shaweesh, and the Roya TV crew which included its correspondent Hafez Sabra and photojournalist Mahmoud Fawzi, during their coverage of an Israeli army aggression in Nablus city in the north of the West Bank. Soldiers also roughed up the journalists Yahya Abu Zneid and Mohammad Abu Thabet, in addition to summoning and detaining the photojournalist, Firas Hindawi. The Ministry said there was a visible and continuous increase in the number of violations, calling for implementing the United Nations Security Council resolutions regarding the protection of journalists and to make sure that there will be no impunity for assailants targeting media crews during their work.
Source: En – Palestine news & Information Agency – WAFA