The German Journalists' Association (DJV) and the German ambassador to Israel strongly condemned the attack on Deutsche Welle journalists by Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank. The incident has sparked a strong international reaction, DW reports, reports News.bg.
The media reported that on Friday in the village of Sinjil, a Palestinian territory in the West Bank, a correspondent from the DW bureau in Jerusalem and a cameraman were attacked with stones and chased by a group of settlers. They managed to escape unharmed, but the team's car was seriously damaged.
According to DW, the journalists were clearly marked with vests with the words “PRESS“. In addition to DW, representatives from AFP, The New York Times and The Washington Post were also present at the scene, covering a planned protest against settler violence.
The Israeli government has not yet commented on the incident.
“DW condemns the attack on our colleagues who traveled to Sinjil to cover a peaceful protest against the violence. We call on the Israeli government to guarantee the safety of all journalists in the West Bank“, said the media outlet's director-general, Peter Limburg. He stressed that press freedom and the safety of journalists are fundamental to any democracy.
The German ambassador to Israel, Steffen Seibert, also reacted on the social network X: “Reports of violent attacks on international journalists are extremely worrying. Media freedom and the safety of reporters must be guaranteed - especially in light of the increasing violence by extremist settlers.“