News / Palestine

Palestinian reporter blinded in one eye by Israeli bullet in West Bank protest

Friday, 15 November 2019 10:53 PM [ Last Update: Friday, 15 November 2019 11:00 PM ]

Palestinian photojournalist Mu’ath Amarneh (L) is seen moments after being shot in the left eye by an Israeli soldier in Surif town in al-Khalil (Hebron) in the occupied West Bank on November 15, 2019. (Photo by the Palestinian Information Center)

Israeli soldiers have made a Palestinian journalist blind after shooting at him in the eye during attacks on Palestinian protesters in the south of the occupied West Bank.

Photojournalist Mu’ath Amarneh completely lost sight in the left eye after being seriously wounded by a rubber-coated metal bullet fired by an Israeli trooper in the Surif town in al-Khalil (Hebron) province on Friday, the official Palestinian News Agency WAFA reported.

The incident occurred when Amarneh was covering a protest rally against land seizure by the Israeli authorities in favor of settlement construction, it further said, adding that he was rushed to a hospital in al-Khalil city for emergency treatment to save his sight but doctors failed due to severity of his wounds.

In separate statements released almost shortly after the incident, the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) and its Palestinian affiliate, the Palestine Journalists Syndicate (PJS), strongly denounced the attack.

The PJS condemned the assault on Amarneh, calling it a “deliberate targeting by the Israeli army of a colleague wearing a bullet-proof vest signed Press.” It also called on the “international institutions to act quickly to stop this violence against the press in Palestine.”

#Palestine🇵🇸: Palestinian photojournalist #MuatAmarneh seriously wounded by Israeli military on 15 November in Hebron. He lost sight of the left eye. https://t.co/jsKJ89oCzm
— IFJ (@IFJGlobal) November 15, 2019

The IFJ General Secretary Anthony Bellanger also slammed the incident, saying, “Once again, the IFJ deplores the attacks on Palestinian journalists by the Israeli military. The IFJ recalls that international law applies everywhere and that no government is above it. It is now time for the United Nations General Assembly to adopt the Convention for the Protection and Safety of Journalists so that the impunity enjoyed by predators of press freedom and democracy can end in Israel as elsewhere.”

During the protest rallies on Friday, dozens of Palestinian citizens marched in Surif to condemn land seizure by Israeli authorities. Meanwhile, confrontations also flared up in Kafr Qaddum in Qalqilya after Israeli soldiers violently quelled the weekly demonstration in the town.

According to a report by the Palestine Information Center, Israeli forces showered the peaceful demonstrators with tear gas canisters, stun grenades and rubber-coated metal bullets.

It added that dozens of Palestinians were injured after inhaling Israeli army tear gas.