Footage Shows Israel Border Police Beating Photographer
Shocking footage filmed on Friday shows a press photographer being beaten by Israel Border Police in East Jerusalem.
Mostafa Alkharouf who works for the Anadolu news agency was accosted by several police officers after covering a prayer protest.
Warning: The below footage is violent and disturbing.
אנחנו מזועזעים מהתקיפה האלימה של חבר הארגון וצלם סוכנות אנאדולו, מוסטפא אל-חארוף, בידי שוטרי מג"ב בעת שסיקר את תפילת שישי במזרח ירושלים. מדובר במקרה התקיפה ה-37 של עיתונאים ערבים מאז תחילת המלחמה, כאשר רוב מקרי התקיפה בוצעו בידי כוחות הביטחון.
מדובר במציאות שפוגעת דרמטית בחופש… pic.twitter.com/ES8lTzVruE
— ארגון העיתונאים והעיתונאיות בישראל (@itonaim) December 15, 2023
The footage shows Alkharouf, who is apparently a well-known photojournalist in the area, being punched in the head by a police officer. Afterward, one of the officers points a gun at him before using the weapon’s barrel as a blunt object to hit the photographer over the head with.
He is then dragged to the floor and repeatedly kicked in the head as he calls out in pain. The person filming the footage is ushered away by another officer.
Alkharouf was taken to hospital and treated for the injuries sustained to his head and face.
The Israel Border Police has suspended two of the officers involved and the Department of Internal Police Investigations has opened an inquiry into the incident.
According to The Times of Israel, a police statement initially said that journalists had interfered with their operations and had refused an order to vacate the area.
Haaretz describes Alkharouf as “a well-known photographer in the city who also documented the aftermath of Hamas’s massacre on the Gaza-border communities.”
The incident comes after a Reuters news agency investigation concluded that an Israeli tank crew was responsible for the killing of one of its visual journalists in southern Lebanon.
While the photography collective Magnum Photos issued a statement last week calling for an end to the killing of journalists and media workers in Gaza and the surrounding areas.
