RACIT – Attack on CNN Team by Israeli Reservists Raises Concerns

Israeli soldiers coming to the aid of settlers suspected of violence against civilians highlights a disturbing trend of Israeli soldiers targeting journalists and Palestinian civilians.

Activities have been suspended until further notice, and a training session on ethics has been ordered by the Israeli army for a battalion of reservists who assaulted and detained a team of journalists from the American CNN network in the West Bank over the weekend. These reporters, who were filming the aftermath of an attack by settlers on civilians – including an elderly man, seen covered in blood in the footage from the American network – were confronted by reservists from the Netzah Yehuda battalion. According to the report, the soldiers appeared to be assisting the presumed perpetrators of violence, who were trying to establish an illegal settlement approved by the Israeli state, rather than trying to stop them.

Established in 1999 to facilitate military service for ultra-Orthodox haredim studying in Talmudic seminaries – who are exempt from mandatory military service – this all-male battalion is predominantly present…