Israeli Police Assault Sky News Arabia Reporter in Sheikh Jarrah

Published May 17th, 2021 - 07:49 GMT

Israeli security forces inspect on May 16, 2021 the scene of a car-ramming attack which wounded several people, including four police officers, in the flashpoint Sheikh Jarrah neighbourhood of Israeli-annexed east Jerusalem. After the "vehicle-ramming attack" in the district, the scene of weeks of clashes between Palestinians and Israeli security forces, the assailant was "shot by officers", police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said without giving details on the attacker's condition. Ahmad GHARABLI / AFP

Highlights

Israeli police said four officers were injured in the attack and that the neighborhood has been sealed off.

Israeli police assaulted a reporter from Sky News Arabia on Sunday as he covered a car-ramming attack in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood of Jerusalem.

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Israeli police killed a Palestinian youth after he ran over four police officers at a checkpoint in Sheikh Jarrah, which has been at the center of recent tensions.

What an absolute hero this @skynewsarabia reporter is! Firas Lutfi was assaulted by Israeli police while working on Sunday morning. By evening, after being bandaged up, he was reporting back live. https://t.co/CwNensH9mZ pic.twitter.com/uCNJmE0NaH
— Sarah Diaa (@TheSarahDiaa) May 16, 2021

The Sky News Arabia crew filming at the scene said police assaulted correspondent Firas Lutfi, and tried to break their camera.

On May 7 and 10, Israeli security forces injured at least eight journalists covering covering protests in Jerusalem.

Journalists must be able to cover the demonstrations without fearing that Israeli security forces will shoot them with rubber bullets.https://t.co/X2CWx4ZdO7
— Committee to Protect Journalists (@pressfreedom) May 11, 2021

“They beat me and tried to break the camera to prevent us from covering,” Lutfi said, adding the crew was able to transmit direct images of the incident and complete the coverage.

Shortly after, police officers were seen violently pushing Lutfi and one officer tried to block the camera with his hand.

#WATCH: @skynewsarabia reporter Firas Lutfi was attacked by #Israeli police as he filmed in #EastJerusalem's flashpoint #SheikhJarrah neighborhood https://t.co/YZcEVA0gYH pic.twitter.com/GUEMkdVlyD
— arabnews (@arabnews) May 16, 2021

Israeli police said four officers were injured in the attack and that the neighborhood has been sealed off.

Clash?? Sky reporter witnessed unprovoked attack on Palestinians. #IsraeliAttackonAlAqsa #IsraeliCrimes #Isreal_is_a_terrorist_state #IsraeliOccupation #IsraeliTerrorism https://t.co/BRwk5FfrpX
Also Read Video: Israeli Police Violently Beat up an Unarmed Palestinian Amid Protests
— Patsy (@RobboHouston) May 10, 2021

Clashes erupted in the area between Palestinians and Israeli forces last month after Israel planned to evict Palestinian families living in Sheikh Jarrah to make way for Israeli settlers.

Those protests spread to Al-Aqsa mosque and sparked the exchange of fire between Israel and Hamas in Gaza.

This article has been adapted from its original source.