Despite the continued ceasefire between Israel and Gazan armed groups for several weeks now, tensions are on the rise in East Jerusalem's Sheikh Jarrah neighbourhood again, which was the main trigger of the May escalations in the first place.
This is how the Israeli soldiers assaulted &brutally detained,Guevara Al-Budairi,the journalist at @AJEnglish Aljazeera channel,& destroyed the cameras of Aljazeera's stuff in Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood,Jerusalem#جيفارا_البديري #انقذوا_حي_الشيخ_جراح #القدس #فلسطين#Palestine ?? pic.twitter.com/GR3SWbAFZz
— Islam Essa??#Gaza?♀️? (@IslamEssa_Gaza) June 5, 2021
Amidst the growing tensions between Palestinian residents of the neighbourhood who are threatened by forced evictions, Israeli forces have assaulted and arrested Aljazeera's correspondent as she was covering the news in the Sheikh Jarrah.
Wearing the press vest, Gevara Al-Badiri was violently approached by Israeli soldiers before she was arrested for several hours, during which she says she "was treated like a criminal".
Al Jazeera journalist, Givara, with her daughters following her release.
— Marwa Fatafta // مروة فطافطة #SaveSheikhJarrah (@marwasf) June 5, 2021
Palestinian women are my forever inspiration. pic.twitter.com/wx8Vi1qA9e
In an official statement by the Doha-based news network, Aljazeera condemned the attack against its correspondent and accused Israel of trying to suppress the truth.
Al-Badiri has been the network's Arabic correspondent for nearly 20 years and has been covering West Bank developments since the 2000 intifada.
Givara is in a cast after she suffered a fracture in her left hand. She says the bruises in her right hand are from the Israeli police trying to tighten the handcuffs on her hands while she was in the car being transferred to the police station in Occupied East Jerusalem. pic.twitter.com/ge48qSTI58
— Nida' Ibrahim (@nida_journo) June 6, 2021
News of Al-Badiri's arrest reminded online commentators of other recent incidents which show growing Israeli hostility towards journalists and media personnel, including the attack on CNN's leading Middle East journalist Ben Wedeman as he and his team were filming clashes in the West Bank a few weeks ago.
Israeli police were filmed pushing CNN correspondent Ben Wedeman and his crew. Sky News correspondent Mark Stone shared this video on Twitter, saying it “happened to us all this week” pic.twitter.com/OK9ODwiKbl
— TRT World (@trtworld) May 19, 2021
Moreover, Israel has deliberately destroyed Aljazeera's and AP's offices in Gaza during the latest military operation, which has been criticized by many international organizations as an attack on journalists who try to report events from the ground.
The relentless exposure of their crimes by both citizen and professional journalists has hurt, and so they're trying to lash out now against those who are doing the most effective reporting. Keep your eyes open and get louder. https://t.co/BRJgZssbZi
— İyad el-Baghdadi | إياد البغدادي (@iyad_elbaghdadi) June 6, 2021
Jevara is out . She said she was treated like a criminal inside the police station. They wouldn’t allow her to remove the flak jacket or to close her eyes. She was released on condition she doesn’t cover sheikh jarrah for 15 days #journalismjsnotacrime pic.twitter.com/OBr7s8iceN
— Hoda Abdel-Hamid (@HodaAH) June 5, 2021
While Aljazeera's correspondent name has been trending on social media networks since last night, Jerusalem's sources have reported that Israel has also arrested local journalist and photographer Mune ElKurd, whose family is amongst 28 Palestinian families facing forced evictions.
The Israeli forces arrested Muna ElKurd. Her brother Mohammed was summoned to an interrogation and police forces in search of him.
— Ghada Majadli غادة مجادلة| #SaveSheikhJarrah ?? (@GMajadli) June 6, 2021
The Israeli occupation forces are hunting Palestinian activists in Sheikh Jarrah and across historic Palestine. We won't be silenced! https://t.co/Peevjphuev
Just after Muna El-Kurd filmed this video of Israeli soldiers taking orders from settlers she was arrested. She had also called for another general strike last night of Israeli products on her IG stories. They are arresting ppl effectively showing true face of Israeli apartheid. https://t.co/LknuVRAHFY
— Ahmed Eldin | أحمد شهاب الدين (@ASE) June 6, 2021
The latest arrest was of Muna Al Kurd. A fresh graduate of media and journalism from Berizeit University, Muna was recently featured in VICE News' short documentary on the situation in Sheikh Jarrah.
A video documenting the moments before the arr.est of the Palestinian activist Mona Al-Kurd from her home in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood, and the Isra.eli forces are searching for her brother, Muhammad Al-Kurd, to arr.est him as well
— Farah Alkaabneh (@farahkaabneh) June 6, 2021
Part 1️⃣ pic.twitter.com/5ufcwsxiGe
According to online sources, her arrest might be linked to a short video she filmed and posted yesterday morning, showing a Jewish settler instructing an Israeli soldier with actions to take against the residents of the neighbourhood.
