(RSF/IFEX) – In a letter to Israeli Minister of Defence Benyamin Ben Eliezer, RSF protested the firing of shots at the vehicle of Associated Press (AP) photographer Elizabeth Dalziel in Hebron. Robert Ménard, the organisation’s secretary-general, asked that “the results of the investigation be rapidly made public.” He also noted that “It [was] fortunate that […]
(RSF/IFEX) – In a letter to Israeli Minister of Defence Benyamin Ben Eliezer, RSF protested the firing of shots at the vehicle of Associated Press (AP) photographer Elizabeth Dalziel in Hebron. Robert Ménard, the organisation’s secretary-general, asked that “the results of the investigation be rapidly made public.” He also noted that “It [was] fortunate that this journalist was not injured. Since the beginning of the second Intifada, more than thirty journalists have been wounded by Israeli army fire.”
Previously, on 14 September 2001, RSF protested the Israeli courts’ decision to close the inquiry into the shooting of French TF1 journalist Bertrand Aguirre, for “lack of evidence” (see IFEX alert of 14 September 2001). Aguirre was shot in the chest. The journalist would likely have died had he not been wearing a bullet-proof vest. The incident was filmed. It clearly showed an Israeli border guard opening fire on the journalist.
According to information collected by RSF, AP photographer Dalziel’s armoured car was hit by bullets on 5 October during clashes between Israeli soldiers and Palestinians in Hebron. A first bullet hit the vehicle’s windshield, which carried “TV” and “Press” markings. While the journalist was attempting to drive away from the area, at least five more bullets hit her vehicle, one of them blowing out a tire. The journalist told AP that she could not see who had opened fire, but that the shots were coming from the direction of an Israeli position. On 6 October, the Israeli army announced that the case was under investigation. The incident took place in the Abou Sneineh area, one of the two sectors of Hebron in which the Israeli army made an incursion on the same day and killed five Palestinians.
RSF has issued a report titled “Case study of 40 journalists injured by bullets in the Occupied Territories”. It is available on RSF’s website: www.rsf.org
