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The jeep used in the attack
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| By Israel Insider staff June 10, 2007 |
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The Palestinian journalists' union chided militants on Sunday for using a vehicle marked with a "TV" sign to cross Gaza's border with Israel Saturday and attack an Israeli military post on the other side. One militant was killed in the attack, for which Islamic Jihad and the Fatah al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades jointly claimed credit. No Israelis were hurt.
"The use of vehicles that carry 'Press', 'TV' or other signs ... expose journalists' lives to danger, gives the Israeli occupation a pretext to target and kill journalists and restricts their ability to perform their professional and national duties," the Palestinian Journalist Syndicate said.
"We stress our rejection of the use of media vehicles and the involvement of the press in any existing conflict, and we demand all parties stop using these methods," said the group, the sole journalists' union in the Gaza Strip and West Bank.
News photographs showed the white armoured jeep, with "TV" in red letters on the front, at Kissufim crossing after the attack, bullet holes in its windshield, tires shot out.
Abu Ahmed, spokesman for Islamic Jihad's armed wing, accused the Israeli military of fixing the TV sign to the armored car. But Palestinians weren't buying that. The Jihad spokeman also lost credibility by claimed that Israeli soldiers were killed or kidnapped. No Israelis were hurt.
Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, at the start of the weekly cabinet meeting in Jerusalem, said the attackers used "a vehicle marked 'TV' in order to fool Israeli soldiers". He said the gunmen had tried "to take advantage of the special sensitivity that we have in a democratic country, such as ours, to the right of the media to operate freely and independently in security-sensitive areas".
The Israel-based Foreign Press Association said in a statement the use of a vehicle marked with TV insignia represented "abuse of this recognised protection for the working journalist" and was "a grave development." Connie Muss, the longtime Dutch head of the group, said on Army Radio that it was one more reason why foreign journalists have essentially abandoned coverage from Gaza, citing its lawlessness and threats to the working press.
Muss said that in the past Israeli security forces had used similar ruses on occasion, but had discontinued the technique after exposure caused an uproar in the Israeli media.
The Israeli press was also critical of the performance of the IDF unit that confronted the terrorists, saying that their slow reaction allowed three of the terrorists to escape unharmed. |
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