Israel deliberately targets Palestinian journalists to cover up its crimes: Hamas

Palestinian photojournalist Moaz Amarneh gestures after he was hit on the face by a rubber bullet from Israeli police during clashes between Palestinians and Israeli security forces in the village of Surif northwest of the West Bank city of al-Khalil on November 15, 2019. (Photo by AFP)

Hamas spokesman Hazem Qasem said in a statement on Monday that “Israel’s crime of deliberately targeting photojournalist Moaz Amarneh is fairly heinous, and confirms the intransigence and defiance of the Israeli army as regards all norms and international law.”

Qasem stressed that Palestinian journalists will remain present in conflict zones, and will continue to exercise their right to publish fair accounts irrespective of the Israeli regime’s crimes against them.

PM covers left eye in solidarity with injured photojournalist

Meanwhile, Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh showed solidarity with Amarneh during a cabinet meeting in the occupied West Bank city of Ramallah on Monday, and covered his left eye.

“If Israel wants to shut down Moaz’s eyes, all of our eyes are his,” Shtayyeh said.

He added that Israel targets Palestinian journalists “to silence the voice of truth,” noting that Israeli forces did not only attack Amarneh’s eyes, but also quelled a sit-in staged by journalists in support of the injured photojournalist and viciously attacked them.

Shtayyeh praised the widespread popular solidarity movement with Amarneh, emphasizing that his deliberate targeting sheds light on the situation of other Palestinians who have fallen prey to Israel, most notably the Abu Malhous Sawarkeh family, which lost eight of its members in an airstrike carried out by Israeli warplanes in the Gaza Strip last week.

Amarneh lost one of his eyes after an Israeli soldier opened fire at him as he was covering clashes between local youths and Israeli forces in the city of Surif, located 25 kilometers northwest of al-Khalil last Friday.

The report added that Israeli forces shot 60 journalists, who suffered serious wounds. Some 43 journalists were also hit by sound grenades directly thrown at them by Israeli forces.

“More than 170 journalists were beaten, detained or banned from coverage,” the report also revealed.

The report further noted that 10 journalists were detained during this period, raising the number of journalists inside Israeli jails to 18.

Source:PressTV