The ‘most moral army in the world’ destroys cameras and attacks cameramen

Israeli Occupation Forces Promise to Punish Soldiers – For Having Got Caught on Camera!

Below is what is now almost a routine incident.  Not wishing other people to witness their indefensible behaviour, Israeli troops naturally wish to prevent their behaviour being recorded.  Thus they attack an Italian cameramen, deliberately breaking his equipment.

Unfortunately for Israel’s military goons they were caught on video instead!  Having been caught bang to rights, the Israeli Occupation Forces have now said that the troops concerned will be punished not the 10 year sentences that Palestinian stone throwers will now received – but probably being confined to base for a month in order to reflect on their stupidity at being caught.  There is of course no mention about ‘the most moral army that god created’ paying any compensation for the broken equipment and for injuries inflicted o the camera man.

Below is a report from The Times of Israel

Tony Greenstein

IDF: Troops who attacked reporters will face discipline

Army says soldiers filmed smashing AFP journalists’ equipment contravened regulations, incident under investigation

By AFP and Times of Israel staff September 26, 2015, 

A still image taken from footage shot in the West Bank on September 25, 2015 apparently shows an IDF soldier hurling a camera belonging to AFP reporters to the ground. (screen capture: YouTube)

The Israel Defense Forces said Saturday that the troops who assaulted two journalists from a foreign news agency in the West Bank a day earlier acted in an unauthorized manner and will face disciplinary measures.

“The IDF is aware of the incident and is investigating,” the army’s Spokesman’s Unit told the Israeli media. “From the initial investigation it appears that the force did not operate as is expected of them, and [was] in contravention of regulations.”

IDF troops seized and destroyed equipment belonging to two AFP journalists, in an incident caught on camera. A video journalist with the agency, Italian Andrea Bernardi, was thrown to the ground and jabbed in the side with a weapon, AFP said.

According to the agency, Bernardi was held down on the ground by a soldier, one knee on his chest, until he managed to show his press card. Bernardi suffered bruised ribs and a facial injury.

AFP said the soldiers pointed their weapons at Bernardi and his colleague, Palestinian photographer Abbas Momani. They also allegedly smashed a video camera and a camera for photographs and took away another camera and a mobile phone. Some of the incident is caught on the video.

At the time both journalists were wearing body armor clearly marked “Press,” AFP said.

The pair had been covering clashes between Palestinians and soldiers when some troops took them aside, swore at them in English and told them to stop recording events, AFP said.

AFP said it had protested to the Israeli military over the incident and said it intended to file an official complaint.

Army spokesman Colonel Peter Lerner told the agency that “disciplinary measures will be taken.”

“The highest levels of command are aware of the incident,” he said, specifying that this included the head of IDF troops in the West Bank.

In an incident on April 24, the Palestinian photographer manhandled Friday and a Palestinian colleague had stones thrown at them by Israeli soldiers, AFP said.

That incident was filmed, and the army announced that disciplinary action would be taken against the soldiers involved.

Friday’s clashes between Palestinians and troops at Beit Furik came after the funeral of Ahmed Khatatbeh, 26, who died of his wounds after being shot by soldiers near Nablus in the northern West Bank. The army said he and another man had thrown a petrol bomb at a vehicle on a road to the settlement of Itamar.