IDF soldier tends to photographer following assault
Photo: Activestills
Soldier assaults photojournalist in Hebron
IDF officials launch inquiry after soldier assaults Haaretz photographer in West Bank town of Hebron Saturday; photojournalist sustains light wounds after being punched and hit with gun butt
Haaretz photojournalist Tess Scheflan sustained light wounds Saturday after being assaulted by an IDF soldier in Hebron. The army launched an inquiry into the incident.
The journalist who accompanied Scheflan Fadi Edayat, told Ynet: "Tess and I were walking around in Hebron…we went into the home of a Palestinian family, taken over by soldiers at the scene. We interviewed the family, which was forced to stay in one room, spoke them, and then we left the house and walked down an alley to leave the area."
"The photographer spotted soldiers running; she photographed them and one of the troops ran in her direction. He attempted to grab the camera of another photographer who was there with us; he walked up to him aggressively, and grabbed him by the neck. I asked Tess to photograph him so we can file a complaint, and then he punched her in the face. She fell down to the ground and he hit her again, this time with his gun butt," Edayat said. "For half an hour she couldn’t see with her left eye. I asked a medic to treat her; she was very tense and in pain."
The chorographer was examined by medics in the area and later was taken to a Jerusalem hospital. The IDF sent an officer to the hospital to record her testimony. Scheflan was since released from the hospital, but Edayat said he hopes the soldier involved in the incident is punished.
"This is our job. Assaulting a journalist who was doing her work is a grave matter," he said.
