Israeli Officer Removed After Soldiers Destroy Journalists’ Cameras
An Israeli military officer was removed from his position after soldiers under his command were seen on video destroying cameras belonging to journalists.
The disciplinary action was announced Friday, a day after the Israel Defense Forces held a hearing on the Sept. 25 incident in the West Bank involving the filming of a Palestinian demonstration by the French news agency AFP. The IDF said it would consider whether to allow the officer to continue to serve in the military in any capacity. He had been suspended following the incident.
“This was a serious incident from an ethical and command perspective that will be investigated and its lessons learned,” the IDF said in a statement.
The commander’s attorney, Eidan Pesach, said the officer, identified only as A., was “sacrificed on the altar of political and diplomatic interests.”
During the incident near Nablus, soldiers smashed the cameras of two photographers for AFP as they filmed the demonstration. Agence France-Presse said that one of the photographers was thrown to the ground and had a gun pointed at him as he looked for his press card.
Members of the officer’s battalion have said they will refuse to serve in the next operation in protest of the punishment.
More than 3,600 people have “liked” a Facebook page in support of officer A.
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning journalism this Passover.
In this age of misinformation, our work is needed like never before. We report on the news that matters most to American Jews, driven by truth, not ideology.
At a time when newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall. That means for the first time in our 126-year history, Forward journalism is free to everyone, everywhere. With an ongoing war, rising antisemitism, and a flood of disinformation that may affect the upcoming election, we believe that free and open access to Jewish journalism is imperative.
Readers like you make it all possible. Right now, we’re in the middle of our Passover Pledge Drive and we still need 300 people to step up and make a gift to sustain our trustworthy, independent journalism.
Make a gift of any size and become a Forward member today. You’ll support our mission to tell the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
Only 300 more gifts needed by April 30
