Israel Matzav

IDF troops cleared in death of Reuters cameraman

In April, 24-year old 'Palestinian' cameraman Fadel Shana was killed after taking a direct hit from an IDF tank shell. For those who have forgotten the incident, you may want to go here and here to refresh your memory.

On Wednesday, the IDF sent a letter to Reuters indicating that the army investigation had concluded that the soldiers acted reasonably under the circumstances.

"In light of the reasonable conclusion reached by the tank crew and its superiors, that the characters were hostile and were carrying an object most likely to be a weapon, the decision to fire at the targets ... was sound," Brig. Gen. Avihai Mandelblit, the IDF's top prosecutor, said in a letter sent to Reuters. The news agency made the letter public on Wednesday.

In a statement issued at its London headquarters, Reuters said the army probe could effectively give soldiers a "free hand to kill," without being sure of the identity of their targets.

"I'm extremely disappointed that this report condones a disproportionate use of deadly force in a situation the army itself admitted had not been analyzed clearly," said David Schlesinger, Reuters' editor in chief. "They would appear to take the view that any raising of a camera into position could garner a deadly response."

Reuters is applying a full-court press on the IDF on this issue, and Reporters without Borders (RSF) is more interested in Shana than in journalists being (including at least one Israeli) targeted on the Russian - Georgian front.

Reporters Without Borders is outraged by the findings of an Israeli investigation into the death of Palestinian cameraman Fadel Shanaa, clearing the soldiers involved of any responsibility. The Israeli military advocate-general, Brig. Gen. Avihai Mendelblit, notified Shanaa’s employer, the British news agency Reuters, of the results of the probe in a letter today.

Gen. Mendelblit said the Israeli tank crew that fired shells at Shanaa and soundman Wafa Abu Mizyed during an incursion into the Gaza Strip on 16 April respected the rules of engagement and will therefore not face legal action. Mizyed sustained only minor injuries.

“The tank crew was unable to determine the nature of the object mounted on the tripod and positively identify it as an anti-tank missile, a mortar or a television camera,” the letter said. “In light of the reasonable conclusion reached by the tank crew and its superiors that the characters were hostile and were carrying an object most likely to be a weapon, the decision to fire at the targets was sound.”

Gen. Mendelblit claimed that the soldiers were too far away to see the “Press” lettering on the car and flak jackets of Shanaa, 23, and Mizyed, who were filming the Israeli army incursion.

Reporters Without Borders said: “The findings of the Israeli investigation are confusing and offer no convincing explanation of the circumstances that led to the Reuters cameraman’s death. The Israel Defence Forces never want to admit they are wrong in such cases. Israeli soldiers enjoy an impunity that endangers many journalists covering their operations.

“Only an impartial analysis of what happened would be able to prevent this kind of tragedy from recurring. Instead of reassuring the press, the Israeli military is fostering an unacceptable climate of fear and danger.

“If journalists are wearing flak jackets, keeping a reasonable distance from the belligerents and clearly displaying press markings, there should be a change in the behaviour of the soldiers in areas where civilians, including journalists, are present.”

Shanaa and Mizyed were about 1 kilometre from the tank that fired shells at their car. Their flak jackets were not effective against the steel flechettes released by one of the Israeli shells.

And here's al-Reuters' reaction. This is about as biased a piece of 'journalism' as you will find anywhere. Let's go to the videotape. I'll have plenty more to say and show after the video.



There are two things that need to be looked at here. One is whether the it was reasonable for the soldiers to believe that a car marked 'press' could actually be hostile to them in the Gaza Strip. The other is whether a camera on a tripod might reasonably be mistaken for an anti-tank missile in the Gaza Strip where huge quantities of unknown types of weapons have been smuggled.

The 'Palestinians' have a lengthy and colorful history of using vehicles marked "press" or "tv" and ambulances both to ferry terrorists and to carry out terror attacks. On June 9, 2007, the 'Palestinians' attempted to use a truck marked "tv" to carry out a suicide bombing at the Kissufim crossing between Israel's Negev and the Gaza Strip.


On September 22, 2006, YNet reported that foreign reporters' vehicles were being used to ferry terrorists into Israel.

Armored vehicles that were given to foreign news agencies operating in the country with the authorization of the State of Israel, may be used by hostile groups to carry out terror attacks against Israel, Director of the Government Press Office Danny Seaman warned in a letter addressed to Shin Bet Head Yuval Diskin.

On August 27 an Israel Defense Forces helicopter hit an armored vehicle that belonged to the Reuters news agency in Gaza. According to Seaman, the incident illustrated the failures in overseeing the use of armored vehicles granted to the foreign media agencies with the permission of the State.

The vehicle's presence in Gaza in itself constituted a violation of its license terms, and moreover, the jeep was carrying only Palestinians – one with links to Hamas who was not a Reuters employee.

Licenses for armored vehicles are granted by the State to foreign news agencies in Israel for the purpose of carrying out journalistic missions in the West Bank and Gaza. The State has even agreed to extend the permits for more than the one year stipulated by the law, on the condition that the license holder is a foreign national and that he alone will drive the car.

"To the best of our knowledge, all of the vehicles' owners have been violating the conditions for a long time now, despite our requests. This is not the first time we are warning that these vehicles will be used by hostile agents to carry out a terror attack against Israel. The recent incident in Gaza only illustrates the danger," Seaman wrote the Shin Bet chief.

By the way, the vehicle referred to in this article is the same one that you saw at the end of the video above, but Reuters doesn't tell you that in the video. And one of the passengers in that vehicle was none other than Reuters cameraman Fadel Shana.

So would it be reasonable for IDF soldiers to believe that a vehicle marked "press" or "tv" or "media" in the Gaza Strip might be ferrying terrorists? You bet it would.

Now, let's look at the camera on tripod looking like an anti-tank missile. Here's a picture of Fadel Shana in February holding what is likely the same camera on the same tripod.

And here are some anti-tank missiles. This is called the Milan:

This is called the Javelin:

Here's a Russian-made Kornet. This is what the Syrians use and have supplied to Hezbullah.

This is an AT-14 Russian anti-tank missile:

Want to try distinguishing between those and a tripod-mounted camera from a mile away when your life's at stake? I didn't think so.

The tank crew acted reasonably given the enemy, the field of battle and the circumstances. So long as the 'Palestinian' terrorists continue to insist on hiding behind civilians - including schoolchildren, ambulances and the media - innocent civilians are going to be killed. But then, we already know that the 'Palestinians' and their friends at Hezbullah will just use that as an occasion to dance on the blood anyway. They want civilian casualties to make Israel look bad.

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 8:18 PM