The Foreign Press Association in Israel has condemned “deliberate official and unofficial incitement” against journalists working to cover the fighting between Israel and the Gaza Strip.

In a statement released Wednesday, the organization stated that “forcible” attempts had been made to prevent journalists and TV crews from performing their news assignments, including “outright attacks.”

One incident described by the FPA was an attack on BBC Arabic reporter Firas Khatib, whilst he was delivering a live feed from the Israeli side of the border. On a YouTube video of the incident, a man can be seen pouncing on Khatib and heard yelling “son of a whore.”

It appears that some Israelis are incensed by what they perceive as a pro-Palestinian bias in foreign reporting of the Israeli-Gaza conflict, and, as the New York Times suggests, have begun taking their frustration out on correspondents.

The FPA also cited an incident in which the Israel Defense Forces “aimed live fire at the Al Jazeera offices in Gaza City.” According to the organization’s statement, the army apologized, “claiming it was in error and said they would investigate the incident.”

According to the New York Times, foreign correspondents in Gaza have generally been treated more positively, “as citizens there hope that a clear picture of their suffering will force the outside world to come to their aid.”

However, it said, Jonathan Miller of Britain’s Channel 4 News described hostile treatment of his crew by residents of the Gaza City neighborhood of Shujaiyeh. Miller wrote in a tweet that some Gazans perceive the journalists as representatives of an international communications that has betrayed them.

#c4news #Gaza For 1st time some people hostile towards us. They see us as reps of of international comm which all feel has betrayed them