(RSF/IFEX) – In a letter to Defense Minister Benyamin Ben Eliezer, RSF expressed its concern about the “warning shots” fired by Israeli soldiers at Christine Hauser, Ahmed Bahadou and Suhaib Salem, journalists with Reuters press agency. Robert Ménard, RSF’s secretary-general, called on the minister “to ensure that such threats do not happen again. In no […]
(RSF/IFEX) – In a letter to Defense Minister Benyamin Ben Eliezer, RSF expressed its concern about the “warning shots” fired by Israeli soldiers at Christine Hauser, Ahmed Bahadou and Suhaib Salem, journalists with Reuters press agency. Robert Ménard, RSF’s secretary-general, called on the minister “to ensure that such threats do not happen again. In no circumstances should Tsahal [the Israeli Army, IDF] intimidate journalists with shots.” The secretary-general stated that he was particularly concerned that since 28 September 2000, the day that Ariel Sharon visited a disputed holy site in Jerusalem, more than twenty journalists and photographers have been injured by bullets – even if it is not possible to confirm that these journalists were deliberately targeted by the Israeli army. To date, RSF has received no explanation from the Israeli authorities about the circumstances of these incidents.
According to information obtained by RSF, on 8 March 2001 in the Gaza Strip, Israeli soldiers fired “warning shots” at Hauser, Bahadou and Salem, journalists with the Reuters agency. The soldiers fired shots towards the three journalists, who wanted to take pictures of an Israeli military post in Netzarim. The reporters, easily identifiable due to their equipment, had to drop to the ground. The soldiers asked them to leave and one of them went over to tell the journalists that they were not allowed to be there. The Israeli army spokesperson, Olivier Rafowics, said that “due to the tense security situation in Gaza, civilians are not allowed to approach Israeli Defence Force (IDF) posts.” “The army only fired warning shots. The Reuters team did not inform the IDF of their presence in this area,” he added.
