The Palestinian News and Information Agency, Wafa, monitored 255 Israeli violations of journalists in the occupied territory during the year 2019.
Wafa said, in its tenth annual report on Israeli violations of journalists, today, Sunday, that the occupation forces continue to pursue and target journalists by firing live and metal bullets and firing tear gas and assaulting them and arresting them directly, or by submitting trials within its systematic, planned and targeted policy to confiscate the truth and muzzling Mouths, to cover up their daily crimes against defenseless Palestinian citizens and prevent their delivery to international public opinion.
She added that the escalation of these crimes and violations against Palestinian journalists and photographers needs a serious stand by Arab and international human rights institutions, federations and press unions to stop these crimes, by organizing international campaigns to support Palestinian journalists in facing these crimes and daily violations against them.
She stressed that such crimes and daily violations against journalists require urgent and immediate intervention to pressure the occupation government to stop this systematic and deliberate targeting of photographers and field journalists, in addition to assuming full responsibility for the lives of journalists and photographers that are in grave danger.
She noted that the Israeli violations against journalists amounted to 255 violations between 01/01/2019 and 31/12/2019. Noting that the number of journalists injured by rubber bullets and tear gas canisters and severe beatings, in addition to other attacks amounted to 145 injured, while the number of arrests, detention, card withdrawals and shootings that did not result in injuries reached 90 cases, while attacks on Press institutions and equipment 20.
Wafa indicated that the month of January recorded 28 violations, while the month of February recorded 14 violations, while the month of March recorded 38 violations, while the month of April recorded 13 violations, and the month of May recorded 25 violations.
She continued: The month of June recorded 16 violations, while the month of July recorded 23 violations, the month of August recorded 22 violations, the month of September recorded 8 violations, the month of October recorded 18 violations, and the month of November 28 violations.
It stated that last December, it recorded 22 violations against journalists, and stated that the number of journalists injured by rubber bullets and tear gas canisters and severe beatings, in addition to other attacks amounted to 3 injured, and the number of cases of arrest, detention, card withdrawal and shooting that did not result It reported 14 cases. While 5 cases of assault on press institutions and equipment were recorded.
It stated that on 4-12-2019, the occupation forces detained Palestine TV reporter Azmi Banat for three hours at the entrance to Al-Arroub camp, north of Hebron Governorate.
On 6-12-2019, the occupation police arrested the staff of the "Palestine" TV office in Jerusalem, which included both journalists Amir Abd Rabo, Dana Abu Shamsieh, Christine Renawi and Ali Yassin, during the broadcast of the "Good Morning Ya Quds" program, and also confiscated their equipment and devices, on the pretext of "They violated the decision to close Palestine TV in the city of Jerusalem," and released them after several hours on conditions that are not communicating with the media or even between them for 15 days, and not communicating with the management of "Palestine TV" permanently, in addition to paying a fine.
On 9-12-2019, the occupation forces arrested Sameh Al-Titi radio correspondent in Hebron, from his home in Al-Aroub camp, north of Hebron, and confiscated his computer and cell phone.
On 9-12-2019, the Israeli occupation intelligence summoned photojournalist Abdel-Rahman Hassan from Bethlehem for the interview, and he is one of the documentaries of the moment of the shooting of the martyr Omar Al-Badawi in Al-Aroub.
The Israeli occupation soldiers also detained three journalists on the same date and prevented them from covering events in the city of Hebron: the photojournalist Hamza Hattab and confiscated his camera, and the two journalists, Samir Al-Heit and Grace Azar, from the Syrian News Channel crew.
On that, on 10-12-2019, two journalists, Muhammad Turkman and Muhammad Hamdan, were suffocated by targeting gas bombs to prevent them from covering the occupation forces storming the city of Al-Bireh.
On 11-12-2019, the Israeli occupation forces arrested the free journalist, Bushra Al-Tawil, from her house in Umm Al-Sharayet near Ramallah, and confiscated two cell phones for her without knowing the reasons for the arrest.
On 20-12-2019, it targeted the photographer of the local North Online Agency, Thaer Abu Rayash, with a rubber grenade, which hit him in the lower left knee, while covering the return marches in the northern Gaza Strip.
On December 22, 2019, the Israeli occupation forces stormed the home of the journalist Khalil Zuweib, and tampered with the contents of his house, and then confiscated some of his equipment and personal identity in Bethlehem.
On December 25, 2019, the Israeli occupation intelligence transferred the case of the journalist captive, Yahya Saleh Al-Amor, from Yatta to a case, after four months of his administrative detention.
Finally, on 12-26-2019, the Occupation Court extended the arrest of journalist Sameh Al-Titi from Al-Arroub camp, north of Hebron, for another eight days for the second time to complete the investigation, and Al-Titi was arrested on the ninth of this month.
