RAMALLAH: On Saturday an AP photographer was handcuffed and forced to sit for five hours without food, water or the chance to relieve himself, according to a statement made by the Foreign Press Association (FPA). According to AP, the soldiers came up behind the photographer as he was documenting a demonstration and placed him in handcuffs. The photographer says that the soldiers did not inform anyone that the area had been declared a closed military zone and that he followed their instructions concerning where to stand. Near him were two other Palestinian journalists who were not hindered by the soldiers. “This is the latest in a string of incidents involving heavy-handed tactics against journalists who were merely trying to do their jobs. The FPA condemns this violence and once against calls on the army to thoroughly investigate this incident", the FPA said in its statement. Regarding the Israeli record regarding these matters, the FPA said that it has “demanded investigations into some ten incidents in which journalists appear to have been abused by Israeli security forces in the course over 2012 and 2013…just two investigations have been launched". The AP's vice president and senior managing editor for international news, John Daniszewksi, had this to say: “We see no reason to forcibly detain a properly accredited news photographer doing his work,” Daniszewski said in a statement. “Further, we cannot excuse the harsh treatment after his detention. We call on the government to investigate thoroughly and take appropriate steps so that such incidents will not be repeated in the future.” The incident took place in the village of Yatta in the occupied West Bank. This is just another event in a long list of wrongs committed against foreign and Palestinian journalist in the past few months. BN
