Reporters Without Borders accused the Israeli government of indifference to repeated acts of violence by its troops against journalists after a young Palestinian cameraman sustained serious gunshot wounds on 3 November 2006, in Beit Hanun, in the north of the Gaza Strip.
“We again urge Prime Minister Ehud Olmert’s government to call the Israeli Defence Force to order,” the press freedom organisation said. “Journalists working in the Gaza Strip are often the victims of what appear to be targeted shootings. Such behaviour towards media personnel will continue until transparent investigations are carried out and those responsible are punished.”
A Palestinian, seriously wounded according to witnesses by Israeli troops in the nearby town of Beit Hanoun, is carried into the hospital in the northern Gaza Strip town of Beit Lahiya on Friday. (AP / Hatem Moussa)
The victim was Hamza Al Attar, 21, a cameraman working for the Palestinian news agency Ramattan, who was shot in the back while covering a protest by women in Beit Hanun calling for an end to the ongoing siege of the town by Israeli troops. He was wearing a bullet-proof vest marked “Press” and was more than 500 yards from the nearest Israeli tanks when shot. He was rushed to a hospital where doctors described his condition as critical.

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At least 20 Palestinian terrorists have been killed as the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) entered their third day of operations in northern Gaza Friday morning, according to army sources.
Seven Palestinians were killed on Thursday when IDF troops operating near the town of Beit Hanoun engaged terrorists in a fierce firefight.
On Friday morning, a four-man Hamas rocket cell was eliminated in an Israeli air force strike near Gaza City.
Back in Beit Hanoun, Israeli ground forces surrounded the town, which has served as the launch pad for hundreds of recent rocket attacks on nearby Israeli towns, and forced all of the local men to gather in a public area for questioning.
As the army moved to round up the locals, a group of 60 gunmen holed up in a Beit Hanoun mosque opened fire on the Israelis. During the ensuing gun battle, portions of the mosque’s roof collapsed. Palestinian sources cited by Ha’aretz said that all of the gunmen escaped unharmed.

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“The town is completely sealed off from the outside world. Last night I drove round and it was incredibly tense. Palestinian youths, many armed, were running around the outskirts. I could see Israeli tanks in total control of the town centre. Israeli observation drones also flew overhead throughout the night to monitor the town.
“What appears to have happened is that a group of Palestinian gunmen were trapped by Israeli troops inside the al-Nassr mosque overnight.
“After appeals from Hamas on radio throughout the night for people to go to the mosque to get the gunmen out, women marched from neighbouring towns to gather round the mosque and get the fighters out.
“Both the Israelis and Palestinians agree there was siege that was lifted by the crowd of women. Both sides agree there were shots fired into the crowd. But, after this the stories start to differ.
“Israel said there were half a dozen Palestinian militants in the crowds and they say that they have no knowledge of hitting any women. The Palestinians say that many of the women were injured and two were shot dead.

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By the thousands they descended on Beit Hanoun, answering Hamas’s overnight radio pleas to rescue besieged Palestinian gunmen from the mosque.
Veiled and carrying mobile phones and handbags they charged past Israeli tanks and armoured bulldozers through the deserted streets of a border town in the midst of the most intensive Israeli military operation in northern Gaza in recent months.
The plan was to smuggle their men out in women’s clothes, some of the marchers wearing double sets under their voluminous black cloaks and veils.
A firefight erupted when gunmen who had been holed up in the mosque for more than a day ran free to join the crowd, leaving at least one of the women dead and dozens more injured by Israeli troops.

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