“I put my hand to my eye and found nothing,” said the Palestinian photojournalist.
Rabat – The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) has strongly denounced a serious Israeli attack on a Palestinian journalist in Surif, near Hebron on Friday, November 15.
The federation recalled that Palestinian photojournalist Moath Amarneh lost sight in his left eye after sustaining serious injuries after an Israeli soldier shot him with a rubber bullet.
The photojournalist was covering a protest against land confiscation.
Dozens of Amarneh’s colleagues protested the attack on the photojournalist on Sunday, November 17. The journalists rallied with one eye covered to show solidarity with their colleagues.
IFC secretary general Anthony Bellanger said, “Once again, the IFJ deplores the attacks on Palestinian journalists by the Israeli military.”
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Prior to the IFJ statement, the Palestinian Journalists Syndicate (PSJ) strongly condemned “tThis deliberate targeting” on the photojournalist who was wearing a bullet-proof vest clearly labelled “Press.”
In a statement the PSJ also called on “international institutions to act quickly to stop this violence against the press in Palestine.”
Speaking about the incident, the 35-year old photojournalist told AFP that he was “standing to the side wearing a flak jacket with press marking and a helmet.”
He said: “Suddenly I felt something hit my eye, I thought it was a rubber bullet or a stone. I put my hand to my eye and found nothing.”
He added that he couldn’t see and his “eye was completely gone.”
Israeli forces have killed at least 37 people in Gaza since Tuesday, November 12. At least 100 more Palestinians have sustained injuries.
