Al Jazeera condemns the assault on its journalist Laith Jaar by Palestinian Security
Al Jazeera Media Network strongly condemns the assault by a member of the Palestinian Authority’s security on its correspondent, Laith Jaar, in the West Bank while he was covering the Israeli bombardment of the Tulkarem refugee camp. According to Laith’s testimony, security officer Ahmad Ghassan Quzah assaulted him and threatened to shoot him.
The Network also condemns the subsequent detention and arrest of Laith by the national security, while filing a complaint against the security officer who assaulted him. The Network consider this action is part of a systematic incitement campaign against Laith and Al Jazeera’s coverage.
This attack and arrest represent a serious escalation and a clear violation of journalists’ rights, adding to the ongoing systematic targeting of our reporters in the Palestinian territories, particularly following the illegal closure of the Al Jazeera bureau in Ramallah by the Israeli occupation authorities.
Al Jazeera emphasises the need to protect journalists and their right to perform their professional duties without threats or intimidation. Any attack infringing upon this right is intolerable.
Al Jazeera calls on the responsible entities in the Palestinian Authority to immediately release our colleague Laith Jaar, open an urgent and comprehensive investigation into this incident, and hold those responsible for the incitement and attack accountable with the utmost seriousness and transparency.
The Network also stresses the need to take the necessary measures to ensure the safety of journalists and prevent the recurrence of such violations.
Al Jazeera Media Network reaffirms its unwavering commitment to conveying the truth and exposing all violations, and it will not back down from its journalistic responsibilities, regardless of the challenges and pressures.
‘What happened yesterday was a major massacre’
We’ve been reporting on the Israeli air strike that killed 18 people in the occupied West Bank. Israel says it targeted a commander from Palestinian Islamic Jihad.
Faisal Salama, an official in the Tulkarem refugee camp, said the attack destroyed a two-story building with many Palestinians gathered in a popular cafe on the lower floor.
“What happened yesterday was a major massacre. They were in pieces,” Salama told Al Jazeera, describing the victims. Most of those inside were killed immediately with 10 others wounded, he said.
“We consider this is an aggression targeting all our people, and we demand an end to this war, an end to the occupation, and that we live in freedom, security and safety like all the peoples of the world,” said Salama.
“This is collective punishment practised by the occupation against our people. Most of those who were martyred yesterday were innocent civilians who were targeted inside their home.”
Israel targeting Palestinian fighters in West Bank ‘in a way we haven’t seen before'
Israel has increased its campaign against the West Bank resistance. In the West Bank, you didn’t really have a lot of armed resistance for many years, but that’s something that has changed over the last few years.
More youth are frustrated with the reality of the occupation, which becomes entrenched; the increasing expansion of settlements; the more violent behaviour by the illegal settlers in the occupied West Bank – in fact, you have settlers in government these days. That’s the ideology that a couple [Israeli] ministers hold.
You’ve had increased armed resistance, and Israel has really been clamping down on that in a way that we haven’t seen before.
It’s significant that in Tulkarem they actually used a fighter jet to target a busy cafe, killing a Hamas commander but also civilians. Israel doesn’t seem to care about what they call “collateral damage”. They say that the Hamas commander was in charge of organising attacks against Israel, but this is a massive strike, and it’s also a massive death toll of civilians.
Israel simply doesn’t care about that. It seems to now have a very long list of targets that it is eliminating as it goes, whether it’s in Lebanon, in Gaza, in the West Bank, and I think it’s also a message to those in the West Bank: “While we are busy in Lebanon and Gaza, we can still get you.”
