[News] Al Jazeera condemns Israel for ‘systematic targeting of journalists’ after arrest of reporter in East Jerusalem

[Anti-Imperialist News]

https://www.rt.com/news/525809-jazeera-reporter-arrested-jerusalem/ Al
Jazeera condemns Israel for ‘systematic targeting of journalists’ after
arrest of reporter in East Jerusalem (VIDEOS)
June 6, 2021
------------------------------

Givara Budeiri, a veteran Al Jazeera correspondent, was arrested while
covering a peaceful protest in a flashpoint neighborhood of East Jerusalem
and banned from entering the area for 15 days.

The arrest happened on Saturday in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood of the
Israeli-occupied part of the city. Budeiri was reporting from a peaceful
protest marking the anniversary of Israel’s takeover of Palestinian
territories and the mass displacement of Arabs living there, which happened
during and after the 1967 Six-Day War.

Footage of the incident filmed by Al Jazeera cameraman Nabil Mazzawi shows
the reporter surrounded by Israeli officers, who push her near a wall and
handcuff her. Budeiri can be heard repeatedly screaming: *“Don’t touch”* as
she is being restrained.

This is the full video of Al Jazeera journalist Givara Budeiri being
assaulted and arrested by Israeli police… as our viewers and I saw it being
played out on-air.It is extraordinary. It is unacceptable. It demands
answers.#JournalismIsNotACrime
<https://twitter.com/hashtag/JournalismIsNotACrime?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw>
pic.twitter.com/iYIS9cirCG <https://t.co/iYIS9cirCG>
— Kamahl Santamaria (@KamahlAJE) June 5, 2021
<https://twitter.com/KamahlAJE/status/1401258257449107461?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw>

The arrest was also captured from different angles by others present at the
scene.

They broke Al Jazeera’s camera, assaulted both the cameraman and the
journalist, then arrested her. This is what US tax payers are funding. A
brutal repression apparatus that has no respect for life, let alone free
speech. This is the reality of Israel pic.twitter.com/DNvKwKVSOH
<https://t.co/DNvKwKVSOH>
— Dima Khatib ديمة الخطيب (@Dima_Khatib) June 5, 2021
<https://twitter.com/Dima_Khatib/status/1401219258487611394?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw>

The camera used by the Al Jazeera crew was reportedly damaged during the
altercation.

According to the Doha-based news network, there was no apparent reason for
the arrest and the Israeli police acted with excessive force while taking
Budeiri into custody. The police said they detained a woman and a man in
Sheikh Jarrah after they refused to identify themselves and assaulted
officers. Budeiri said she was accused of kicking a female soldier, which
she denies.

Mostefa Souag, acting director general of the Doha-based channel, said the
arrest fits a pattern of harassment of its journalists by the Israeli side.

*“The silencing of journalists by terrorizing them has become a routine
activity for the Israeli authorities, as witnessed in recent weeks in Gaza
and occupied Jerusalem. These actions cannot be viewed in isolation,”* he
said
<https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/6/5/al-jazeera-denounces-israeli-assault-and-arrest-of-its-journalist>
.

Also on rt.com IDF brags of waging 'first AI war,' lending credence to view
that Gaza serves as testing ground for Israel's fighting techniques
<https://www.rt.com/news/525058-israel-first-ai-war/>

Reports in Israeli media suggest the arrest followed a conflict between the
journalist and police over her press credentials. Budeiri, who has been
working for Al Jazeera since 2000, is accredited with the Israeli
Government Press Office (GPO). According
<https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/.premium-israel-police-arrest-al-jazeera-reporter-at-protest-in-east-j-lem-s-sheikh-jarrah-1.9877327>
to Haaretz, she apparently didn’t have her press card on her and failed to
produce it when asked by police. Al Jazeera insists Budeiri was carrying
the proper papers and that the police prevented her from showing them. The
journalist was wearing a flak jacket marked “press” when she was arrested.

Sheikh Jarrah is currently a closed neighborhood, with only people living
there and members of the press allowed in. Last month, it became a focal
point for mass protests over the forced eviction of Palestinian residents.
A 1970 Israeli law allows Jewish families to claim property rights for
houses in East Jerusalem, which were owned by Jews before 1948. Critics say
it is used to push Palestinians out of East Jerusalem and enact a de facto
ethnic cleansing.

Also on rt.com ‘Will not be silenced’: AP, Al Jazeera condemn Israel for
bombing Gaza media offices & nearly killing their journalists
<https://www.rt.com/news/523932-associated-press-al-jazeera-condemn/>

The latest evictions in Sheikh Jarrah were one of the triggers for the
11-day escalation of violence between the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and
Palestinian militant groups controlling Gaza. Amid the hostilities, the IDF
bombed a Gaza tower block that housed the offices of several international
news outlets, including Al Jazeera. The Israelis justified the bombing by
stating that Hamas stationed its military intelligence in the building.

Budeiri was released from Israeli custody hours after her arrest. She said
she was banned from returning to Sheikh Jarrah for 15 days as a condition
of being freed.
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