Description

Photo:
A settler with a cudgel (L) attacks Channel 12 news reporter Ohad Hemo during clashes with Palestinian olive harvesters in the West Bank village of Burka, October 13, 2020. (Screen capture: Twitter). Published by The Times of Israel
__________

Channel 12 reporter says settlers were warning Palestinian farmers not to start the harvest, even though it was an area they owned. When clashes broke out, settlers directed violence at him as well

by Itay Stern for Haaretz
Oct 13, 2020

Channel 12 News journalist Ohad Hemo was attacked on Tuesday by Israeli settlers who threw stones at him at an olive grove in the West Bank while he was covering clashes between settler youth and Palestinian farmers in the area.

"We arrived at the olive grove during the harvest season which started this week, and there the confrontation developed," Hemo told Haaretz. "We saw that the settlers were warning the Palestinians not to start the harvest, even though it was an area they owned. The settlers approached the area – then a Palestinian pushed one of them. From there a riot broke out and the settlers started beating the Palestinians."

Shortly after, Hemo explained, he and his team also became a target for the settlers. "They started throwing dozens of stones and rocks at us from above. I shouted in Hebrew and begged them to stop but it did not help ... I escaped from there after being injured."

Hemo said army forces arrived at the scene 20 minutes later, and "no one was arrested because no police were sent." The incident, Hemo promised, would be fully covered in Tuesday's newscast.

The Israeli Journalists' Association said that "in recent weeks we have witnessed a severe and continuous sequence of attempts at physical and verbal violence against journalists carrying out their public mission in complex circumstances. The association accompanies and will continue to personally accompany journalists who have been affected by violence and will provide them with the necessary protection and accompaniment."