The Palestinian Center for Development and Media Freedoms (MADA) strongly condemns the Israeli occupation army attack on Ma’an News Agency photographer Rami Swidan, Palmedia cameraman Ashraf Abu Shawish, Reuter’s photographer Abdel-Rahim Alqusini, and Reuter’s cameraman Hassan Titi, today noon, 28 January 2010, in Burin village, south of Nablus city in the West Bank.

Swidan said that they were covering olive trees cultivation in Burin, where the Israeli occupation forces were in the area, and one soldier approached him and ordered him not to cover, but he insisted on filming, so they argued, then the soldier hit him on his chest, and tried to take the camera from him by force, but the journalists interfered and separated the soldier away from him. After that the soldiers threw tear gas grenade at them and tried to disperse them.

On the other hand the Israeli Supreme Court canceled the decision to prison Ala’lam TV correspondent Khader Shaheen and his assistant Mohammed Sarhan for two months, which had previously issued by the Central Court in Jerusalem, on 14 June 2009. Where the Israeli occupation authorities have arrested Sarhan and Shaheen on 5 January 2009 and released them after Ten days, but they put them under house arrest till 22 June 2009, on charges of publishing news about the movements of the occupation army before the ground attack on Gaza Strip.