Aljazeera man beaten by Israeli troops

Nabil al-Mazzawi was detained along with three other foreign protestors while filiming a demonstration against Israel’s construction of the separation barrier.

He was later released, Aljazeera management confirmed.

Aljazeera’s editor-in-chief Ahmad Sheikh said al-Mazzawi was filming one of the Israeli occupation soldiers who was beating activists during the protest. Another soldier then beat the cameraman before arrresting him, he said.

The incident took place in the village of Beilin, near the town of Ram Allah, at a weekly protest against Israel‘s controversial barrier.

Aljazeera correspondent Shireen Abu Aqleh said al-Mazzawi was beaten and detained, along with his camera and the film which he was taking at the time of the incident.

Commenting on the incident, an Israeli police spokesman said an Aljazeera cameraman had been arrested during the protest after first assaulting a border policeman.

The spokesman told AFP he did not know whether al-Mazzawi was beaten, but if so, it was within his rights to file a complaint.

Regular protests

Six Israeli peace activists were also arrested during the protest, rally organiser Abd Allah Abu Rahma told AFP.

Israeli peace activists, foreigners and Palestinians hold regular protests in the area against the barrier. They are routinely broken up by Israeli forces firing rubber bullets or teargas.

The International Court of Justice ruled against Israel’s wall

Israel has insisted the massive barrier of electric fencing, barbed wire and concrete wall is vital to stop potential attackers from infiltrating the country and Jewish settlements in the West Bank.

The Palestinians condemn the wall as an attempt to grab their land and undermine the viability of their promised state.

On 9 July 2004, the International Court of Justice issued a non-binding ruling that parts of the 650km (410-mile) barrier which criss-crosses the West Bank were illegal and should be torn down.