Condemnations after the assault of journalists by the Israeli police

The Israeli police intervened against Palestinians gathering to perform the Tarawih prayers outside the walls of the Old City of East Jerusalem on March 17, 2026. Journalists were injured during this operation. A press freedom stifled and journalists more than ever hindered from working. The Foreign Press Association (FPA) criticized an “unprovoked assault” by the Israeli police against journalists in Jerusalem on Wednesday, March 18, stating that a CNN producer had suffered a wrist fracture.

The FPA stated that on Tuesday evening, police had “unnecessarily and aggressively pushed back a group of journalists who were doing their job, filming people praying outside the walls of the Old City of Jerusalem.” According to the association, the police detained several journalists, damaged photographic equipment, and confiscated memory cards.

During the assault, an Israeli police officer fractured the wrist of a CNN producer, the FPA said in a statement. The association insisted, “None of this is acceptable,” representing hundreds of journalists in Israel and the Palestinian territories.

The Union of Journalists in Israel was “dismayed.” An AFP photographer on the scene reported that a small group of journalists were filming Muslims attempting to pray outside the walls of the Old City when a group of officers suddenly arrived and “violently attacked the worshipers and the journalists covering the event.”

A foreign journalist told AFP that the police had “struck the CNN producer and other journalists with batons,” adding “at least one Palestinian was arrested.” AFP requested a response from the Israeli police regarding this incident.

Israeli authorities have closed the holy sites in the Old City of East Jerusalem, annexed by Israel, for security reasons since the beginning of the Middle East war on February 28.

The FPA urged the police to “immediately take action against the officers involved in this unprovoked assault and act in the future to protect press freedom, rather than violate it.”

In a statement posted on X, the Union of Journalists in Israel expressed “dismay” at the police behavior and urged the police chief to “immediately suspend the involved officers.”