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Hebron - Ma'an - Israeli soldiers attacked journalists and activists at two separate demonstrations against the ongoing Israeli annexation of Palestinian land in the south of the occupied West Bank on Friday. At one demonstration near the Israeli settlement of Pene Hever, built on the lands of the town of Bani Na'im, located east of Hebron in the south of the occupied West Bank, the Israeli forces attacked four journalists and three Palestinians. It was affirmed in a statement, which Ma'an received, that the assaulted journalists were: Nayif Hashlamoun, Yusra Al-Jamal and Haytham 'Ubeid, who all work for Reuters. The fourth journalist was Ma'an's photojournalist Ma'moun Az-Zarou. The names of the Palestinian citizens who were attacked remained unknown. The journalists pointed out that they were beaten by the Israeli soldiers because they were "exposing Israeli scandals," which culminated with the "extravagant use of force" against foreign solidarity and peace activists at As-Samu' village south of Hebron on Wednesday. Thousands of local villagers and foreign solidarity activists had rallied near the Israeli settlement on Friday in protest against the confiscation of 4,000 dunums of land (one dunum equals 1000 square meters) belonging to the Palestinian town of Bani N'aim. Israel is planning to build a separation wall in the area. In a separate incident, Israeli soldiers attacked journalists and solidarity activists at a peaceful rally protesting against Israel's illegal establishment of the separation wall on land belonging to the village of Um Salamuna, located south of Bethlehem in the southern West Bank. Our Bethlehem correspondent reported that the Israeli troops beat the journalists and the foreign activists and arrested 2 activists. Palestinian information minister Mustafa Barghouthi condemned these attacks on journalists and foreigners. |