Israeli journalists condemn army violence against Palestinian colleagues

A group of Israeli journalists specialising in Palestinian affairs have condemned the violence meted out by Israeli soldiers and police officers against Palestinian journalists in the village of Kafr Kodoum last Friday.

“We not only condemn this unfortunate incident,” said the journalists in a statement, “but also stress that it is necessary for journalists everywhere to be dealt with as neutrals monitoring events, not involved in them.”

As representatives of the Israeli media, the journalists said that they recognise the importance of respect for their work. “The press corps needs to be dealt with away from violence and other forms of repression regardless of how political the circumstances may be.”

A copy of the statement signed by 14 reporters from most of the major newspapers, television stations and websites, was sent to the relevant authorities in Israel.