Israeli police have reportedly posed as a TV news crew to arrest a wanted Arab man – provoking an outcry from critics. Police said the target of the operation was Nadim Injaz, who had been wanted for making unspecified threats. Last year, Injaz burst into the British Embassy in Tel Aviv, claimed to have a gun, demanded political asylum and threatened suicide – as reported HERE on YW.
Although the weapon turned out to be plastic, Injaz was convicted on charges related to the embassy storming and spent several months in prison before being released a few weeks ago.
Since his release, Injaz has made “a number of threats,” police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said, without elaborating – and police impersonated a Channel 2 TV news team “in order to meet with the suspect and have him arrested.”
Channel 2 executive director Avi Weiss sent a letter of protest to Police Commissioner David Cohen, Haaretz reported.
“Impersonation is liable to create the mistaken impression that the news organization is involved in some way in an investigation or other police operations, and thereby compromise its status as an objective and independent news outlet,” Haaretz cited Weiss as writing.
Gadi Sukenik, a former Channel 2 anchor, said reporters’ lives could be endangered if sources were to doubt a reporter’s integrity as a result of the police impersonation.
The Foreign Press Association, which represents Israel-based staff of overseas media, condemned the subterfuge, saying it endangered reporters’ freedom to carry out their duties and their personal security.
(AP / Yahoo News)
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4 Responses
its good that they use a new way every so often this way it keeps the arabs brain working(some thing they dony have)
This was done several years ago by police in Luxemburg to detain a mentally ill man that held 31 school children and a teacher hostage. Reuters also protested with an unsigned editorial.
So let me get this straight, Reporters can broadcast police operations as they happen, so criminals and terrorist can be made aware and kill police, but if police impersonate a reporter to save a life, that is a terrible travesty. Why? Because, if the reporter voluntarily chooses to insert his sorry @#$ into a war zone, or volunteers to go interview a terrorist in order satiate his big fat ego that needs to win a pulitzer prize for the best story of the year, his integrity may be questioned and his life may be put at risk. THEN, police will not be able to pose as reporters to rescue his @#$, because they did it once before to save an innocent victim that didn’t voluntarily endanger his own life. no you understand?
Job well done!
Imagine that the media is concerned what Israel might do. Imagine a media that was fair, impartial and reasonable. Sheesh….some people..Yesher Koach Israel!