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Two Palestinian journalists were injured in the West Bank on Thursday amid clashes between Palestinians and the Israeli military.
Photojournalist Momen Somrain was injured by a bullet to the head, while the other photojournalist, Rabie al-Munir, was injured in his stomach by a metallic bullet coated in rubber, according to the PA’s official WAFA news agency. Munir is with Al-Araby TV channel, headquartered in Qatar, according to Agence France-Presse.
إصابة المصور ربيع المنير مصور #التلفزيون_العربي برصاص مطاطي في البطن خلال مواجهات #رام_الله المستمرة. pic.twitter.com/CWy57vfCl2
— وكالة سند للأنباء - Snd News Agency (@Snd_pal) June 7, 2023
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said they conducted an operation in Ramallah to demolish the house of Islam Farouk. The East Jerusalem man was arrested for his alleged involvement in the November 2022 bus bombing in Jerusalem that killed two Israelis, the IDF said in a series of tweets.
The IDF said “violent riots” broke out during the operation and explosives and incendiary devices as well as rocks were thrown at them. The IDF responded with live fire.
The Israeli military acknowledged a journalist was injured.
“An initial inquiry suggests that a Palestinian photojournalist in the area of the violent riots was injured, likely by a rubber bullet. The details of the incident are under review,” said the IDF.
The PA called on the international community to act to protect Palestinian journalists, saying “Do not wait for a new martyr among our journalists,” according to WAFA.
The PA added that 35 people in total were injured during the clashes following the demolition of Farouk’s home.
Al-Monitor’s efforts to reach Somrain and Munir were unsuccessful.
In a statement, the Palestinian Journalists Syndicate said that Somrain and Munir were injured by metal bullets and both were taken to a hospital in Ramallah for treatment.
Why it matters: Israel has received significant international scrutiny after the killing of Palestinian-American Al-Jazeera reporter Shireen Abu Akleh in the West Bank city of Jenin in May 2022.
The IDF admitted last September that one of its soldiers likely shot and killed Abu Akleh by accident, but an investigation by CNN last May said the Al-Jazeera veteran journalist was targeted. The following November, the US Department of Justice opened an investigation into her death. The Israeli government said it would not comply and had already conducted a proper investigation.
The declassification of this important new USSC Report about the shooting death of American citizen & journalist, Shireen Abu Akleh, is vital to ensuring accountability & saving innocent lives going forward — goals we should all support.
My full statement: pic.twitter.com/sFO9yOvdNo— Senator Chris Van Hollen (@ChrisVanHollen) June 6, 2023
The killing of Abu Akleh received renewed attention this week. On Monday, Democratic US Sen. Chris Van Hollen called on the Biden administration to declassify its report into her death, according to a statement from his office.
Know more: Violence between the IDF and Palestinians, including Palestinian armed groups, in the West Bank is not new, but there have been a particularly high number of incidents this year. Israel has conducted raids targeting members of Hamas, Islamic Jihad and the relatively new Lion’s Den group in recent months.
The violence has also affected Israeli territory. In March, a Hamas member shot three people in Tel Aviv. In April, an Italian tourist was killed in a car-ramming attack in the city.
Last month, clashes between Islamic Jihad in Gaza and Israel broke out, leading to 33 Palestinian and one Israeli death.
