GAZAWOOD Account Accuses Journalists of Misleading Public

Gazawood account on X posted a video clip showing journalist Abdullah Abu Sabra on duty with a green light shining on him. The clip was accompanied by the following text: “Palestinians continue to post ridiculous videos using laser pointers, trying to claim that these are snipers from the Israeli army.”

Kashif verified the claim by looking into the video clip published by Abdullah Abu Sabra and found that he did not mention that the light was from an Israeli sniper, but rather published it with the phrase: “Laser with laughter.” Journalists were sarcastically saying: “When you write in your CV that you can work under pressure.”

Via “Google Images” tool, Kashif also found that the account translating_falasteen posted the video on Instagram on 13/11/2024, accompanied by the following text: “A Palestinian photojournalist shared a video documenting the Israeli soldiers’ targeting him with a laser light to disrupt his work while he was covering the execution of a young man at the “Deir Sharaf” checkpoint near Nablus, West Bank, on Tuesday. Local pages also circulated video showing occupation forces using laser light directed at press teams stationed near the checkpoint.” The sniper was not mentioned in the post.

Journalist Abdullah Abu Sabra, told Kashif that the clip was filmed on Tuesday, 12/11/2024, near the Deir Sharaf checkpoint, northwest of Nablus, after the killing of Walid Hussein. Abu Sabra confirmed that the Israeli occupation army directed a laser light at the camera lens and at him in order to obstruct filming and prevent him from doing his job. 

Kashif contacted journalist Zain Jaafar, who confirmed that the Israeli occupation army had shed light on journalists present in the area of ​​the incident, including journalist Abdullah Abu Sabra, with the aim of disrupting and obstructing their work.

Kashif also obtained photos taken by Zain Jaafar for the French agency AFP, showing an Israeli occupation soldier carrying a laser light and shining it on those present.

The Israeli occupation army targets Palestinian journalists in the West Bank and Gaza Strip with arrest, assault and killing. According to the latest update of the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, the number of journalists killed by Israel is 184 since 7/10/2023.

International organizations such as the United Nations condemned in a report published on 1/2/2024 “the killings, threats and attacks practiced by the Israeli occupation against journalists” and called for their protection.

The International Federation of Journalists stated in a report published on 31/7/2024 that it “joined its voice with the Palestinian Journalists Syndicate in condemning the ongoing killings and attacks against journalists,” and the Federation called for “an immediate investigation into their killing.”