At least 3 journalists assaulted by Israeli police in Jerusalem

Amman, March 19, 2026 –– The Committee to Protect Journalists is alarmed by reports that at least three journalists were assaulted, and two of them detained, by Israeli security forces outside Jerusalem’s Al-Aqsa Mosque on March 17 while covering worshippers attempting to pray at the holy site that authorities have closed under emergency measures during the Iran war.

“This attack is the latest in a pattern of restrictions on journalists in Jerusalem, where many reporters have been prevented from documenting events in and around Al-Aqsa Mosque”, said CPJ Regional Director Sara Qudah. “Israeli authorities must end the use of violence against journalists on assignment who are clearly identifying themselves as press.”

Abeer Salman, a journalist with CNN, told CPJ that freelance journalist Faiz Abu Rmeleh and a photojournalist with Chinese state-funded outlet Xinhua, were physically assaulted after they started filming those gathering near the mosque compound, the third most holy site in Islam. Salman said she and other journalists tried to intervene from a distance, shouting to alert officers that those being beaten were members of the press. 

She said police later approached, and one officer grabbed her, twisting her arm, and causing a fracture that required medical treatment.

Abu Rmeleh alleged that more than 15 police officers attacked him after he attempted to stop them from beating the Xinhua journalist, who asked to not be identified, as he lay on the ground. He said his camera was damaged during the assault, and he later discovered that police had confiscated its memory cards. When he attempted to retrieve them, he said he was assaulted again.

John Wessels, a photojournalist for AFP present at the scene but unharmed, told CPJ that he also repeatedly informed police officers that those being assaulted were journalists, but was ignored. 

In a statement reviewed by CPJ, the police said the “journalists who were part of an unlawful gathering and disturbance of public order in violation of Home Front Command instructions. They refused to comply with police orders and did not identify themselves as journalists.” 

According to the police, two individuals “raised suspicion among officers that their presence with filming equipment was intended to provoke and encourage disorder. Only after being detained did they identify themselves as journalists, and they were then released.”

Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported that a source from the Union of Journalists in Israel told them the “police’s claim that the journalists did not identify themselves is completely false. Video footage clearly shows that officers knew very well they were journalists, yet continued to assault them.”