Border police fire stun grenades to break up women's protest at Kaladiya.
By JERUSALEM POST STAFFjp.services1(photo credit: )
Two television crewmen were injured on Thursday, when border police fired stun grenades to break up a demonstration of women at the Kaladiya checkpoint between the West Bank and Jerusalem.
Associated Press Television cameraman Eyad Moghrabi was hit on the leg by a flying piece of metal. TV footage showed a stun grenade exploding among the reporters, who were several meters away from the demonstrators. The pictures show the reporters scattering, with one clutching her leg.
"This was not the first time they fire where the journalists are located," Moghrabi said.
Israel Police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said the officers warned everyone, including journalists, that their presence was illegal, before firing the stun grenades, denying that reporters were targeted.
In its statement, the IDF said it "strives to ensure that the press is not hindered," but said that when soldiers declare an area closed, reporters are expected to leave.
While agreeing that the IDF did not have a deliberate policy, Daniel Blumenthal, vice chairman of the Foreign Press Association, said there are numerous complaints. "We assume some soldiers act on their own initiative because of their idea about where a journalist should be an event."
