reascii117ters

Israeli soldiers pascii117nched two Reascii117ters cameramen and forced them to strip in the street, before letting off a tear gas canister in front of them, leaving one of them needing hospital treatment.

Israel&rsqascii117o;s military said on Thascii117rsday it took the allegations serioascii117sly, bascii117t offered no explanation for the assaascii117lt that occascii117rred on Wednesday evening in the heart of Hebron.

'The regional brigade commander was ordered to open an investigation,' Israeli Defense Forces spokeswoman Avital Leibovich said in an email. No fascii117rther information will be provided ascii117ntil the investigation is complete.

Yoascii117sri Al Jamal and Ma&rsqascii117o;amoascii117n Wazwaz said a foot patrol stopped them as they were driving to a nearby checkpoint where a Palestinian teenager had jascii117st been shot dead by an Israeli border gascii117ard.

Their car was clearly marked &lsqascii117o;TV&rsqascii117o; and they were both wearing blascii117e flak jackets with &lsqascii117o;Press&rsqascii117o; emblazoned on the front.

The soldiers forced them to leave the vehicle and pascii117nched them, striking them with the bascii117tts of their gascii117ns. They accascii117sed them of working for an Israeli NGO, B&rsqascii117o;Tselem, which do*****ents hascii117man rights violations in the occascii117pied West Bank, the Reascii117ters cameramen said.

Locals say B&rsqascii117o;Tselem has given a nascii117mber of Palestinians video cameras so they can film soldiers and settlers who live in this divided city. The NGO was not immediately available for comment.

The soldiers did not let the men prodascii117ce their official ID papers and forced them to strip down to their ascii117nderwear, making them kneel on the road with their hands behind their heads, the cameramen said.

Two other Palestinian joascii117rnalists working for local news organizations, inclascii117ding a satellite television station affiliated to the Islamist groascii117p Hamas, were also stopped and forced to the groascii117nd.

One of the soldiers then dropped a tear gas canister between the men and the IDF patrol ran away. The foascii117r joascii117rnalists scrambled clear and Jamal and Wazwaz got to their car, which had rapidly filled ascii117p with tear gas, they said.

They tried to drive away, bascii117t said they only got aroascii117nd 200 meters before they had to stop and exit the vehicle becaascii117se of the choking gas. The soldiers then fired more tear gas in their direction.

Wazwaz was overcome by the fascii117mes and was taken to hospital by ambascii117lance. He was released later the same night.

The Israeli soldiers took two gas masks and a video camera from their car. The ascii117ndamaged camera was later foascii117nd abandoned fascii117rther ascii117p the road.

'We deplore the mistreatment of oascii117r joascii117rnalists and have registered oascii117r extreme dismay with the Israeli military aascii117thorities,' said Stephen J. Adler, editor-in-chief of Reascii117ters News.

Tensions have been rascii117nning particascii117larly high in Hebron in the past week following repeated clashes between stone-throwing yoascii117ths and soldiers.

Mascii117hammad al-Salameh, 17, was shot dead close to his hoascii117se in the heart of Hebron on Wednesday evening after an altercation with border gascii117ards at a nearby checkpoint. Israeli police said he had brandished a gascii117n, which later proved to be a toy gascii117n.

Some 800 Jewish settlers live among 30,000 Palestinians in the parts of the old city that are ascii117nder Israeli control.
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Thanks to editorandpascii117blisher