BBC: Israeli Troops Fire on Reporters/Peace Demonstrators

I don't condone violence against civilians but are these people friggin stupid or something? A Palestinian solidarity march in front of a bunch of Israeli soldiers in this climate is just a death wish. What's next on their agenda? A cave sit in around the Tora Bora area as B-52's circle overhead?

 

I agree with Timing. Any idiot that walks into what is obviously a war zone, is just plain stupid. They should be shot. Maybe, the Israeli's were just giving them free dance lessons.

Jeff,

Did you see it from the very beginning, or just when the shooting started? The press has a way of only showing the act & not what led up to it. Is it possible the Israeli's told them that they would be shot if they entered the area? Was anyone hit? The fact that they were firing at the ground would make me think they were meant to be warning shots.

 

I don't think they understud you Jeff, well I did and I think that's Israel for ya... (love the people hate Sharon)

 

No freakin way! Israel can do wrong as well?

 

Yes, but they did not know who was in the march, and if the law at the time said no demonstrations..then the reporters are plain stupid.



DaDakota

 

Exactly. I couldn't agree more with Jeff here. Really surprised that some people here seem to think it's ok to fire at demonstrators and reporters because it supposedly is their own fault to have been there. There are other ways to break up a demonstration, even if it is an "illegal" one. I have no doubt that Israel is also going overboard in many ways in this conflict.

 

You're forgetting one major point, Jeff. According to Israel, they're at war. While the Palestinian's may occupy the territory, Israel is in control of it at the moment. Thus, they can make the laws that affect the area they control.

I wasn't referring to the reporters, when I made the comment about the people being stupid. It's unfortunate that they were shot at, but I think you may have already explained it, by indicating that they may have freaked when they saw the cameras. But, I don't know.

Again, they're in a state of war. I know that there are rules of engagement, but, as we've all seen, terrorism is a different kind of war. You don't know who's friendly & who's not. Thus, you have to consider everyone a security risk.

Now, I'm not saying that Israel is always right, & in fact, may have really screwed up in this instance. But, this quote from the article you posted, might explain what their thinking was.

"We know for sure that it was an act of provocation carried out on purpose by members of groups supporting terrorists, supporting suicide bombers, killing our women and children," said Lieutenant-Colonel Olivier Rafowicz, quoted by the French news agency, AFP.

 

It's wrong. The whole situation over there is wrong. Hate begets hate. Violence begets violence. I get the sense that this situation is much worse than any other they have had there. The Palestinians are sending their teenage daughters to die in suicide attacks. The Israelis and attempting to humiliate Arafat and crush the Palestinians. Neither tactic can possibly work. Both sides are debasing themselves by using such tactics. I don't see how the situation can do anything but spiral down further. How far do you think the Israelis will go? It's hard to see a limit. How far do you think the Palestinians will go? Their teenage daughters die in suicide attacks and they consider them martyrs. They are already well past any limit I can imagine.

 

My first sentence contained the words I do not condone violence against civilians so I quite obviously find it wrong. What I find also is that these people are friggin morons. Conducting a demonstration in a war zone is a sure way to get yourself killed. Also comparing this to a suicide bomber killing a bunch of people eating lunch at a cafe is just horrible.

It's ironic Jeff that you would post this one day after you chided treeman for posting unbalanced articles. It would take little effort at all to find something just as horrible perpetrated by Palestinians.

 

People eating lunch probably aren't as threatening as a group of people demonstrating in the street. I wish the whole thing would go away too, I'm tired of it.

 

Israel accuses reporters of siding with Palestinians
By israelinsider staff April 1, 2002

For CNN Correspondent Michael Holmes, who arrived in Israel just a week ago, it was the "most extraordinary" news conference of what he said was a twenty-five year journalistic career.

Holmes, together with several other correspondents and photographers, had accompanied a group of pro-Palestinian activists who had come to Ramallah to express solidarity with Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat. "About 40 or 50 Palestinian and international peace protesters," Holmes reported, "marched down the street to one of the entranceways into the compound, walked straight past some armored personnel carriers and tanks, and walked straight toward Yasser Arafat's compound."

Holmes and the other journalists tagged along. "We followed, and as we did, Israeli troops fired warning shots. The group did not stop. They marched straight in, past Palestinian gunmen at the entrance to Yasser Arafat's office building, walked straight past the Palestinian gunmen who seemed shocked and surprised and not a little pleased to see everybody."

The Israeli government was less pleased. The journalists had entered what the Israel Defense Forces had defined as "a closed military area." Danny Seaman, the director of the Government Press Office, said one of the reasons for isolating Mr. Arafat was to prevent him from any contact with lieutenants in the field, so giving him an outlet "providing him with the means of obstructing the goals of the Israeli operation." There were Israeli accusations that Arabic broadcasts and cell phones brought by reporters were being used to communicate military instructions to the field.

Israeli officials were also displeased by what they claimed was uncritical coverage that Arafat was receiving in Ramallah from the international media. Asked by the CNN anchor whether Arafat had condemned the wave of terrorist attacks apparently did not ask the Chairman the question. "Yasser Arafat has said in the past he has already made those statements. He has condemned bombings. He says that he has done everything he possibly can to stop the bombings. Israel, of course, has a very different viewpoint. He says that he has already made those statements. He's calling for peace; he's calling for the full implementation once again of the Tenet peace plan."

Interviewed on an Israeli late night radio show, Seaman was incensed by the report that a Palestinian stringer employed by ABC television had given Arafat a cell phone. The Israeli Government Press Office later warned news organizations that it would enforce a prohibition on hiring Palestinians who lacked permits to work in Israel, saying that organizations that did so would risk a stiff fine and even closure of its offices.

"There is a war today between the Jewish people, the Israeli people, and the Palestinians," Seaman said. "They will use every method to hurt us, including exploiting the media and Israeli democracy. We have to put a stop to this matter."

Fugitives tried to escape with activists and reporters

Most seriously, the Israeli government reported that when the reporters and some members of the activist group left the compound, between 13 (according to the New York Times) and 20 (according to IDF Chief of Operations, Maj. Gen. Giora Eiland) Palestinians wanted by Israel attempted to leave the compound with them, trying to blend in with the group. "When they came out, there were double the number that had gone in. Some [of those coming out] were wanted fugitives. They exploited Israeli openness," Eiland said. The wanted Palestinians were captured when the members of the group were detained and interrogated by the IDF.

Surprisingly, this "smuggling attempt" item was not reported by CNN, even though the presence of the fugitives with Arafat is a major issue of contention between the Israeli Palestinian sites, and the arrests had occurred prior to Holmes' CNN report.

Seaman expressed concern about the safety of journalists. A staff writer for The Boston Globe, Anthony Shadid, 33, was shot in the shoulder Sunday while walking down a street, trying to get out of Ramallah. He was taken to a private hospital in the city, where his injuries were described as light and his condition stable. It was not clear who fired the shot, although the Jerusalem Post reported that "sources who were involved [in] the incident said he was hit by Palestinian gunfire."

While the IDF declared Ramallah a closed zone, it remains unclear how strictly the citywide ban will be enforced. Senior IDF officers said, however, that Arafat's compound was, from now on, strictly off-limits and that non-residents would be removed by force "if necessary."

Reuters reported that the army has taken over the Ramallah offices of foreign news organizations, including Reuters, forcing staffers out. There were reports that the IDF had closed the office of Al-Jazeera, the Qatari television station, in the city.

The Foreign Press Association in Israel protested the army's actions. "The media must be allowed to cover this major story. We call upon the Israeli government to allow free and independent coverage of the operation in Palestinian Authority areas," the FPA said in a statement.

http://www.israelinsider.com/channels/diplomacy/articles/dip_0185.htm

Maybe the Israelis don't trust the press? I can't imagine why...

 

I find it disgusting that some of you are siding with the Isrealis on this one. Completely disgusting and embarassing to say the least.

 

I am not siding with anyone as I think they are both wrong...but for the reporters to be STUPID enough to be in a WAR zone and demonstrating, right after they marched into see Arafat and gave him a cell phone is plain dumb.

If I were Israel I would lock out all reporters from the areas of contention too.

If only to protect them from stupid stunts like this...what do they think is going on over there? People are dying...and they get pissed because someone shoots at the ground in front of them.....unbelievable how stupid some people are...just because they join someone and sing Cumbayaa.....

I mean the Israelis have no idea...ZERO...about who is and who isn't a terrorist....


DaDakota

 

When I don't trust someone, I find the best course of action is to open fire into a group of unarmed peaceful protestors.

 

Pued,

How do you know they are peaceful? Wasn't the guy who suicide bombed the cafe the other day in a peaceful setting? What about the guy who bombed the Pizzeria, or the wedding or the.....

well you get the point.

How can you be sure who is peaceful and who is packing?

DaDakota