Israeli army officer suspended for assault on journalists

Jerusalem: An officer of the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) was suspended from duty after soldiers of his unit assaulted two journalists in the West Bank.

"The preliminary review of the occurrences in Beit Furik revealed that the officer in charge did not conduct himself in accordance to professional expectations," Xinhua news agency quoted a statement as saying on Saturday.

"Following the review, the commander was suspended from operational duty," the statement said, adding that the IDF considers the incident "grave and in contravention of its code of ethics and professional standards".

It said that the review is ongoing and lessons from the incident will be learned and disseminated within the IDF.

The Foreign Press Association said on Saturday that a cameraman and photographer were harassed and beaten by IDF soldiers "in an unprovoked attack" when they were covering a protest near the West Bank city of Nablus Friday.

The association said that the IDF soldiers pointed their weapons at the two journalists, threw one to the ground, punched him in the ribs and held him pinned to the floor with a knee in the chest.

Both had to be treated in hospital and their equipment were also destroyed, causing several thousand euros of damage.