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Palestinian journalist: Israel snipers competed to shoot me

Israeli snipers are using Palestinian protesters and media taking part in and covering the Great March of Return demonstrations as “entertainment”

September 23, 2019 at 1:56 pm

Israeli snipers are using Palestinian protesters and media taking part in and covering the Great March of Return demonstrations as “entertainment” as part of their “games”, recently injured photojournalist Abdul-Rahman Al-Kahlout told MEMO.

Speaking after being hit twice – simultaneously – on Friday while covering the protests at the Gaza-Israel fence, the 23-year-old said: “I am really surprised because from what I can see it seems there was a competition between the soldiers to target me at the same time.”

READ: 2 journalists wounded by Israeli soldiers in the West Bank and Gaza Strip

“Three shots were fired, two live bullets in my legs and one gas canister thrown directly at me. This definitely means that I was their target.”

It seems as if I was their entertainment and they were playing games.

This is not the first time Abdul-Rahman has been hit by Israeli bullets, on 27 April 2018 an explosive bullet left fragments in his foot, forcing him to undergo numerous surgeries and leading to permanent nerve damage.

Friday’s attack left a bullet in each of his legs, he was targeted in spite of wearing a flak jacket and helmet clearly marked with the word “press”. This, he said, proves that he was hit “deliberately”.