Israel to pay photographers attacked by IDF soldiers in Nabi Saleh

protest in Nabi Saleh

Oren Ziv writes in +972, “Israel has agreed to pay compensation to two photojournalists who were attacked by two Israeli soldiers, including a commissioned officer, in the Palestinian village of Nabi Saleh four years ago. The state had initially claimed that the pair had led violent riots that day, despite clear video evidence to the contrary, first published by +972 Magazine, and despite the fact that the army convicted and punished the two officers involved back in 2015. As part of the settlement, the state has retracted its claims that the two were involved in any riot.”…

“The day of the incident, an Israeli army spokesperson contacted by +972 Magazine described the soldiers’ attack on the journalists as “reasonable force.” Just hours later, apparently after viewing the video, the spokesperson said that the incident would be investigated. Less than a week later, the two were tried and sentenced for the attack in a brigade-level disciplinary hearing. One officer was given two weeks in prison and the other was sentenced to one month’s confinement on base.”

solidarity with Nabi Saleh

Schwarczenberg and Momani filed a civil suit against the Israeli army in 2016 seeking NIS 100,000 ($28,000). In the Israeli state’s response to the suit, it claimed: “The plaintiffs themselves were an inseparable part of the severe riots,” and that “they attempted to obstruct the actions of the security forces, cursed at the soldiers, implored the rioters to come out of the village, exposed the location of the [military] force, and even directed the rioters to harm the soldiers, and were absolutely not engaged solely in documentation.” (more…)