20 apr 2018
Ahmad Rashad al-Athamna, 24
The Palestinian Health Ministry has reported, Friday, that Israeli soldiers killed two Palestinians, and injured at least seven others, including a journalist, and a medic, who was shot in the head, in the Gaza Strip.
It said the soldiers shot and killed a young man, identified as Ahmad Rashad al-Athamna, 24, in the northern part of the Gaza Strip.
The Palestinian Health Ministry has reported, Friday, that Israeli soldiers killed two Palestinians, and injured at least seven others, including a journalist, and a medic, who was shot in the head, in the Gaza Strip.
It said the soldiers shot and killed a young man, identified as Ahmad Rashad al-Athamna, 24, in the northern part of the Gaza Strip.
Ahmad Nabil Abu Aqel, 25
The army also killed Ahmad Nabil Abu Aqel, 25, from Jabalia in northern Gaza, after shooting him with a live round in the head.
The Ministry said the soldiers shot five Palestinians, including a medic who was shot with a live round in the head, and a journalist who was wearing a clearly marked press vest and helmet, east of Khuza’a town, east of Khan Younis, in the southern part of the Gaza Strip.
It added that the soldiers also two other Palestinians with live fire east of Rafah, in southern Gaza. One of them was shot in his knee, and the other was shot in his thigh.
The Ministry stated that he was shot with a live round in the head. He died approximately two hours after being shot.
The soldiers also shot three other Palestinians who were rushed to local hospitals.
Updated From:
Army Injures Two Palestinians In Northern Gaza
Israeli soldiers shot, Friday, two young Palestinian men with live fire, including one who suffered a serious head injury, after the army attacked protesters east of Jabalia, in the northern part of the Gaza Strip.
Palestinian medical sources said the seriously wounded young man, Ahmad Nabil al-‘Aqel, was shot with a live round in the head, and was rushed to the Indonesian Hospital, in Beit Lahia.
The two Palestinians were injured just as hundreds of Palestinians marched on their lands, near the border fence, on the fourth week of the “Great March of Return.”
Hundreds of Palestinians started gathering near the border fence, demanding their internationally-guaranteed Right of Return.
The protests started on March 30th, which marks the Palestinian Land Day, and are planned to continue until May 15th, the 70th anniversary of the Palestinian Nakba (Catastrophe), in which more than 700,000 Palestinians were forcibly displaced by Israeli forces in 1948, and their villages and towns were destroyed, prior to the establishment of Israel in historic Palestine.
The army killed at least 34 Palestinians, and injured thousands or protesters since the nonviolent protests started on March 30th.
Palestinian injured at daybreak on 4th week of Great March of Return
A Palestinian young man was shot and injured by the Israeli occupation forces on Friday morning east of Khuza’a town, in Khan Younis.
Reporting from Khan Younis, a PIC news correspondent said the Israeli military targeted at daybreak a group of Palestinian youths peacefully gathering near the Awda camp in Khuza’a, to the east of Khan Younis, with spates of bullet fire.
A young man was rushed to a hospital so as to be urgently treated for the wounds inflicted by the Israeli attack.
At the same time, threatening leaflets were dropped by Israeli planes on the Awda (return) tents set up near al-Bureij refugee camp, in the central Gaza Strip, and Jabaliya, to the north, as part of Israeli attempts to rein in participation in the Great March of Return under the pretext that it is staged by Hamas.
The National Authority for the March of Return said it moved its protest tent camps 50 meters closer to the eastern border fence with the Israeli-occupied territory, amid fears of fresh violence on the fourth week of Great Return March protests.
At least 35 Palestinians were killed and 4,200 others injured since a tide of violence broke out on March 30 along Gaza’s border area as the Israeli military aggressively attacked Palestinians taking part in the Great March of Return events.
The army also killed Ahmad Nabil Abu Aqel, 25, from Jabalia in northern Gaza, after shooting him with a live round in the head.
The Ministry said the soldiers shot five Palestinians, including a medic who was shot with a live round in the head, and a journalist who was wearing a clearly marked press vest and helmet, east of Khuza’a town, east of Khan Younis, in the southern part of the Gaza Strip.
It added that the soldiers also two other Palestinians with live fire east of Rafah, in southern Gaza. One of them was shot in his knee, and the other was shot in his thigh.
The Ministry stated that he was shot with a live round in the head. He died approximately two hours after being shot.
The soldiers also shot three other Palestinians who were rushed to local hospitals.
Updated From:
Army Injures Two Palestinians In Northern Gaza
Israeli soldiers shot, Friday, two young Palestinian men with live fire, including one who suffered a serious head injury, after the army attacked protesters east of Jabalia, in the northern part of the Gaza Strip.
Palestinian medical sources said the seriously wounded young man, Ahmad Nabil al-‘Aqel, was shot with a live round in the head, and was rushed to the Indonesian Hospital, in Beit Lahia.
The two Palestinians were injured just as hundreds of Palestinians marched on their lands, near the border fence, on the fourth week of the “Great March of Return.”
Hundreds of Palestinians started gathering near the border fence, demanding their internationally-guaranteed Right of Return.
The protests started on March 30th, which marks the Palestinian Land Day, and are planned to continue until May 15th, the 70th anniversary of the Palestinian Nakba (Catastrophe), in which more than 700,000 Palestinians were forcibly displaced by Israeli forces in 1948, and their villages and towns were destroyed, prior to the establishment of Israel in historic Palestine.
The army killed at least 34 Palestinians, and injured thousands or protesters since the nonviolent protests started on March 30th.
Palestinian injured at daybreak on 4th week of Great March of Return
A Palestinian young man was shot and injured by the Israeli occupation forces on Friday morning east of Khuza’a town, in Khan Younis.
Reporting from Khan Younis, a PIC news correspondent said the Israeli military targeted at daybreak a group of Palestinian youths peacefully gathering near the Awda camp in Khuza’a, to the east of Khan Younis, with spates of bullet fire.
A young man was rushed to a hospital so as to be urgently treated for the wounds inflicted by the Israeli attack.
At the same time, threatening leaflets were dropped by Israeli planes on the Awda (return) tents set up near al-Bureij refugee camp, in the central Gaza Strip, and Jabaliya, to the north, as part of Israeli attempts to rein in participation in the Great March of Return under the pretext that it is staged by Hamas.
The National Authority for the March of Return said it moved its protest tent camps 50 meters closer to the eastern border fence with the Israeli-occupied territory, amid fears of fresh violence on the fourth week of Great Return March protests.
At least 35 Palestinians were killed and 4,200 others injured since a tide of violence broke out on March 30 along Gaza’s border area as the Israeli military aggressively attacked Palestinians taking part in the Great March of Return events.
The Israeli occupation authorities on Thursday morning closed the Iliya Institute, a community center operating in Occupied Jerusalem, under the recommendations of Israel’s War Minister.
Israeli intelligence officers pasted the closure order on the gates of the institution.
The measure come shortly after Israel’s War Minister Avigdor Lieberman labeled the Iliya Institute a terror establishment following data amassed by the Shin Bet security agency.
According to a statement from Lieberman’s office, the war minister signed a special order under section 3 (a) of the Anti-Terrorism Law after it was found that the Institute, which operates as a youth center, was acting on behalf of the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP).
The recommendation was allegedly made after months of surveillance by the Shin Bet which found that the Institute carried out activities aimed at promoting the activities of DFLP in Occupied Jerusalem such as recruiting and training activists to spread the group’s ideology through incitement videos.
Israeli intelligence officers pasted the closure order on the gates of the institution.
The measure come shortly after Israel’s War Minister Avigdor Lieberman labeled the Iliya Institute a terror establishment following data amassed by the Shin Bet security agency.
According to a statement from Lieberman’s office, the war minister signed a special order under section 3 (a) of the Anti-Terrorism Law after it was found that the Institute, which operates as a youth center, was acting on behalf of the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP).
The recommendation was allegedly made after months of surveillance by the Shin Bet which found that the Institute carried out activities aimed at promoting the activities of DFLP in Occupied Jerusalem such as recruiting and training activists to spread the group’s ideology through incitement videos.
18 apr 2018
Israeli forces, Wednesday, physically assaulted three Palestinian journalists during clashes that broke out in al-‘Arroub refugee camp, north of the southern West Bank district of Hebron, said security sources.
Sources told WAFA Israeli soldiers physically assaulted three journalists while they were covering confronatations that erupted near the Palestine technical college, near the camp.
The journalists were identified as Mohammad Halayqa, Mus’ab Shawar, and Sari Jaradat. Meanwhile, two Palestinian youth were reportedly detained during the clashes.
Israeli settlers attacked Palestinian students on their way home from school in al-Salaymeh neighborhood in the Old City district of Hebron, in the southern West Bank, local sources also reported, according to WAFA.
The settlers physically attacked students and used foul language against them, but no injuries were reported.
Israeli forces also attacked high school students from al-Sawiya al-Lubban high school, to the south of Nablus, with pepper spray, causing a number of them to suffocate, said a local official.
Ghassan Daghlas, who monitors settlement activities in northern West Bank district, said that Israeli soldiers sprayed students with pepper spray while they were heading back home from school.
Several students suffered from suffocation, including one case that necessitated transfer to hospital for medical treatment.
Sources told WAFA Israeli soldiers physically assaulted three journalists while they were covering confronatations that erupted near the Palestine technical college, near the camp.
The journalists were identified as Mohammad Halayqa, Mus’ab Shawar, and Sari Jaradat. Meanwhile, two Palestinian youth were reportedly detained during the clashes.
Israeli settlers attacked Palestinian students on their way home from school in al-Salaymeh neighborhood in the Old City district of Hebron, in the southern West Bank, local sources also reported, according to WAFA.
The settlers physically attacked students and used foul language against them, but no injuries were reported.
Israeli forces also attacked high school students from al-Sawiya al-Lubban high school, to the south of Nablus, with pepper spray, causing a number of them to suffocate, said a local official.
Ghassan Daghlas, who monitors settlement activities in northern West Bank district, said that Israeli soldiers sprayed students with pepper spray while they were heading back home from school.
Several students suffered from suffocation, including one case that necessitated transfer to hospital for medical treatment.
A Palestinian journalist from Gaza, one of the over 2,000 Palestinians wounded in the past 18 days by Israeli forces, arrived in a coma to Ramallah General Hospital Monday, after repeated delays of his transfer by Israeli authorities and the denial of treatment by Israeli hospitals.
Ahmad Abu Hussein, a photojournalist from Gaza, was shot in the head on Friday April 13th by Israeli snipers stationed at the border between Gaza and Israel. He was hit with an exploding bullet, a banned type of live fire that exlodes on impact, causing severe internal injuries.
The head of the Palestinian Journalists’ Syndicate, Nassar Abu Bakr, criticized the delay in the transfer of the patient, telling reporters from the Ma’an News Agency, “The Israeli authorities committed two crimes against Abu Hussein, one when injuring him with an explosive bullet in the head and another when delaying his transfer from Gaza hospitals to Ramallah, as if the occupation insists on killing him.”
Abu Bakr said that specialized Israeli hospitals were better equipped to treat the severely wounded journalist, but none would accept to have him transferred. So he was sent to Ramallah General Hospital in the West Bank. He added that only through ‘strenuous efforts’ by a number of Palestinian officials was this transfer made possible.
Dozens of journalists gathered in front of Ramallah General Hospital in solidarity with their wounded colleague, when he arrived at the hospital early Monday morning.
At least ten Palestinian journalists have been among those targeted by Israeli forces in their attacks on non-violent protests in Gaza over the past three weeks. On April 6th alone, six journalists were shot, and one was killed – 30-year-old Yasser Murtaja, who was wearing a clearly labeled PRESS flak jacket.
Ahmad Abu Hussein, a photojournalist from Gaza, was shot in the head on Friday April 13th by Israeli snipers stationed at the border between Gaza and Israel. He was hit with an exploding bullet, a banned type of live fire that exlodes on impact, causing severe internal injuries.
The head of the Palestinian Journalists’ Syndicate, Nassar Abu Bakr, criticized the delay in the transfer of the patient, telling reporters from the Ma’an News Agency, “The Israeli authorities committed two crimes against Abu Hussein, one when injuring him with an explosive bullet in the head and another when delaying his transfer from Gaza hospitals to Ramallah, as if the occupation insists on killing him.”
Abu Bakr said that specialized Israeli hospitals were better equipped to treat the severely wounded journalist, but none would accept to have him transferred. So he was sent to Ramallah General Hospital in the West Bank. He added that only through ‘strenuous efforts’ by a number of Palestinian officials was this transfer made possible.
Dozens of journalists gathered in front of Ramallah General Hospital in solidarity with their wounded colleague, when he arrived at the hospital early Monday morning.
At least ten Palestinian journalists have been among those targeted by Israeli forces in their attacks on non-violent protests in Gaza over the past three weeks. On April 6th alone, six journalists were shot, and one was killed – 30-year-old Yasser Murtaja, who was wearing a clearly labeled PRESS flak jacket.
17 apr 2018
Israeli soldiers attacked, Tuesday, dozens of nonviolent protesters and journalists, during a protest held by families of political prisoners near the northern entrance of al-Biereh city, in central West Bank, wounding many of them.
The soldiers deliberately attacked journalists documenting the nonviolent procession and fired many gas bombs and concussion grenades at them.
The army also resorted to the excessive use of force against the nonviolent protesters, and fired gas bombs at them, causing many to suffer the effects of teargas inhalation, and wounding two who were directly shot with gas bombs, including one who was hit in the head.
The nonviolent procession was held by more than 200 mothers or wives of political prisoners, in addition to many residents, including political leaders, who marched carrying Palestinian flags and pictures of imprisoned loved ones.
After the soldiers assaulted the nonviolent protesters, and forced them to disperse, several youngsters started hurling stones at the army, while the soldiers fired more gas bombs and concussion grenades at them, and at local journalists.
The soldiers deliberately attacked journalists documenting the nonviolent procession and fired many gas bombs and concussion grenades at them.
The army also resorted to the excessive use of force against the nonviolent protesters, and fired gas bombs at them, causing many to suffer the effects of teargas inhalation, and wounding two who were directly shot with gas bombs, including one who was hit in the head.
The nonviolent procession was held by more than 200 mothers or wives of political prisoners, in addition to many residents, including political leaders, who marched carrying Palestinian flags and pictures of imprisoned loved ones.
After the soldiers assaulted the nonviolent protesters, and forced them to disperse, several youngsters started hurling stones at the army, while the soldiers fired more gas bombs and concussion grenades at them, and at local journalists.
16 apr 2018
The Journalist Support Committee (JSC) has called upon international organizations to support Palestinian journalists by pressuring Israel to stop its persistent violations against them and release 26 of them locked up in Israeli jails.
According to a report released on Monday by JSC on the occasion of the Palestinian Prisoner Day, Israel’s security and military forces intensified their violations against Palestinian journalists and attacked more than 93 of them during the first quarter of the current year.
One of those journalists was killed by Israeli gunfire and 49 others suffered injuries in Gaza alone as they were covering recent “March of Return” protests in border areas.
Israel’s security and military apparatuses have also arrested and detained 45 journalists since the beginning of the current year and extended the detention of 13 others already in jails.
The committee also documented in its report that Israel’s forces raided 13 homes of journalists during the reporting period, while its security authorities imposed travel bans and financial penalties on 10 others.
According to a report released on Monday by JSC on the occasion of the Palestinian Prisoner Day, Israel’s security and military forces intensified their violations against Palestinian journalists and attacked more than 93 of them during the first quarter of the current year.
One of those journalists was killed by Israeli gunfire and 49 others suffered injuries in Gaza alone as they were covering recent “March of Return” protests in border areas.
Israel’s security and military apparatuses have also arrested and detained 45 journalists since the beginning of the current year and extended the detention of 13 others already in jails.
The committee also documented in its report that Israel’s forces raided 13 homes of journalists during the reporting period, while its security authorities imposed travel bans and financial penalties on 10 others.
14 apr 2018
Five Palestinian journalists were reportedly injured by Israeli gunfire on Friday as they were covering the March of Return protests in different border areas.
Reporters for the Palestinian Information Center (PIC) said that Israeli soldiers deliberately targeted media and ambulance crews in an obvious attempt to prevent journalists from exposing their violations and paramedics from helping injured protesters.
One of the PIC reporters said that photojournalist Ahmed Abu Hussein suffered a serious bullet injury in his abdomen and was evacuated to hospital.
Reporters for the Palestinian Information Center (PIC) said that Israeli soldiers deliberately targeted media and ambulance crews in an obvious attempt to prevent journalists from exposing their violations and paramedics from helping injured protesters.
One of the PIC reporters said that photojournalist Ahmed Abu Hussein suffered a serious bullet injury in his abdomen and was evacuated to hospital.
13 apr 2018
The Palestinian Health Ministry has reported that Israeli soldiers injured, Friday, seventeen medics, after the army deliberately targeted field clinics with gas bombs, east of Khan Younis, in the southern part of the Gaza Strip. 701 Palestinians injured by army fire in the Gaza Strip.
The Ministry stated that the army targeted the clearly marked field clinics, causing seventeen medics to suffer the effects of tear gas inhalation, along with dozens of Palestinians, who were receiving treatment there.
It said that the medics will always provide the needed treatment to all wounded Palestinians despite the ongoing and escalating Israeli violations against them, in direct violation of International Law.
The Ministry also called on the international community to take a decisive and firm stance condemning Israel’s escalating violations, and to provide the urgently needed protection to the Palestinian people, and to ensure an end to the violations against the medics and all medical facilities.
It stated that the seventeen medics were among 701 Palestinians, including journalists, who were injured by Israeli army fire. 163 of the wounded Palestinians were shot with live ammunition.
296 of the wounded were rushed to various hospitals and medical center in the coastal region.
Among the wounded is a journalist identified as Ahmad Abu Hussein, who was seriously shot in the abdomen, and Mohammad Najjar, who was shot in the shoulder.
Many other journalists fainted after inhaling gas fired by the army, especially when army drones fired gas bombs at media vehicles and reporters.
The Ministry stated that the army targeted the clearly marked field clinics, causing seventeen medics to suffer the effects of tear gas inhalation, along with dozens of Palestinians, who were receiving treatment there.
It said that the medics will always provide the needed treatment to all wounded Palestinians despite the ongoing and escalating Israeli violations against them, in direct violation of International Law.
The Ministry also called on the international community to take a decisive and firm stance condemning Israel’s escalating violations, and to provide the urgently needed protection to the Palestinian people, and to ensure an end to the violations against the medics and all medical facilities.
It stated that the seventeen medics were among 701 Palestinians, including journalists, who were injured by Israeli army fire. 163 of the wounded Palestinians were shot with live ammunition.
296 of the wounded were rushed to various hospitals and medical center in the coastal region.
Among the wounded is a journalist identified as Ahmad Abu Hussein, who was seriously shot in the abdomen, and Mohammad Najjar, who was shot in the shoulder.
Many other journalists fainted after inhaling gas fired by the army, especially when army drones fired gas bombs at media vehicles and reporters.
9 apr 2018
An urgent letter was sent by the Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor on Sunday to Mr. David Kay, the Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression, on Israel’s targeting of journalists at the Gaza borders.
Euro-Med Monitor called in the letter for an urgent international investigation into the killing of 30-year-old Yasser Murtaja, a Palestinian journalist and father of a child, while covering last Friday's demonstrations at the Gaza border. Murtaja was shot even though he was wearing a press vest.
Four UN experts, including the UN Special Rapporteur on freedom of expression, issued an urgent statement regarding the protests in Gaza, stressing that “International law sets strict prohibitions on the use of force by law enforcement officials.”
Although the organizers stressed that the protests are non-violent, Israeli snipers killed 17 demonstrators “who posed no immediate threat to the soldiers and injured about 1,340 others on March 30, 2018,” the letter said.
“To blur Israeli snipers vision, protesters have resorted last Friday, April 6, 2018, to burning tires at the borders, yet this did not protect them from Israeli snipers’ fire, with eight more shot dead, and about 700 injured, including journalist Yasser Murtaja,” the letter added.
The letter further called for necessary action and for raising the issue with the Israeli government to end the latter’s violations against Palestinians in Gaza, to immediately lift the siege, and to allow Palestinians to express their opinion without threat, killing or intimidation.
The letter also expressed hope for prompt action by contacting the Israeli authorities so that they make sure civilians are not harmed while practicing their right to peaceful protest and assembly.
In the same context, the UN experts reiterated the UN Secretary General’s call for “an investigation into Israel’s response. The experts expressed deep concern at reports that Israel’s Minister of Defense stated that there will not be any inquiry into Israel’s actions.”
The experts also said that “there is no available evidence to suggest that the lives of heavily armed security forces were threatened,” and stressed that “Israel has ignored repeated demands by the international community to credibly investigate and prosecute substantial allegations of wrongful killings by its forces.”
The UN experts also said that some of “the dead and wounded were shot in “their upper bodies while at considerable distances from the Israeli forces.”
They also expressed concern at the “apparent disregard for the lives of Palestinian protesters,” noting that “willful killing or serious injury of the protected population amounts to grave breaches of the Fourth Geneva Convention.”
At the end of their statement, the experts reminded the government of Israel that “peaceful protest is a legitimate exercise of the rights of freedom of expression, assembly, and association,” warning that Israel, “as the occupying power, is obligated to protect and to respect the human rights of the Palestinians living in occupied Gaza.”
Earlier, Euro-Med Monitor sent letters to a number of international officials calling on them to work to ensure the safety of Palestinian protesters on the borders of the Gaza Strip and to discuss with the concerned countries ways to overcome the crisis while preserving the right of Palestinians in Gaza to peacefully protest the crippling blockade and the closure of crossings by Israel and Egypt to and out the coastal enclave.
Euro-Med Monitor called in the letter for an urgent international investigation into the killing of 30-year-old Yasser Murtaja, a Palestinian journalist and father of a child, while covering last Friday's demonstrations at the Gaza border. Murtaja was shot even though he was wearing a press vest.
Four UN experts, including the UN Special Rapporteur on freedom of expression, issued an urgent statement regarding the protests in Gaza, stressing that “International law sets strict prohibitions on the use of force by law enforcement officials.”
Although the organizers stressed that the protests are non-violent, Israeli snipers killed 17 demonstrators “who posed no immediate threat to the soldiers and injured about 1,340 others on March 30, 2018,” the letter said.
“To blur Israeli snipers vision, protesters have resorted last Friday, April 6, 2018, to burning tires at the borders, yet this did not protect them from Israeli snipers’ fire, with eight more shot dead, and about 700 injured, including journalist Yasser Murtaja,” the letter added.
The letter further called for necessary action and for raising the issue with the Israeli government to end the latter’s violations against Palestinians in Gaza, to immediately lift the siege, and to allow Palestinians to express their opinion without threat, killing or intimidation.
The letter also expressed hope for prompt action by contacting the Israeli authorities so that they make sure civilians are not harmed while practicing their right to peaceful protest and assembly.
In the same context, the UN experts reiterated the UN Secretary General’s call for “an investigation into Israel’s response. The experts expressed deep concern at reports that Israel’s Minister of Defense stated that there will not be any inquiry into Israel’s actions.”
The experts also said that “there is no available evidence to suggest that the lives of heavily armed security forces were threatened,” and stressed that “Israel has ignored repeated demands by the international community to credibly investigate and prosecute substantial allegations of wrongful killings by its forces.”
The UN experts also said that some of “the dead and wounded were shot in “their upper bodies while at considerable distances from the Israeli forces.”
They also expressed concern at the “apparent disregard for the lives of Palestinian protesters,” noting that “willful killing or serious injury of the protected population amounts to grave breaches of the Fourth Geneva Convention.”
At the end of their statement, the experts reminded the government of Israel that “peaceful protest is a legitimate exercise of the rights of freedom of expression, assembly, and association,” warning that Israel, “as the occupying power, is obligated to protect and to respect the human rights of the Palestinians living in occupied Gaza.”
Earlier, Euro-Med Monitor sent letters to a number of international officials calling on them to work to ensure the safety of Palestinian protesters on the borders of the Gaza Strip and to discuss with the concerned countries ways to overcome the crisis while preserving the right of Palestinians in Gaza to peacefully protest the crippling blockade and the closure of crossings by Israel and Egypt to and out the coastal enclave.
8 apr 2018
Reporters Without Borders (RSF) watchdog has accused Israel of "deliberate shooting" of journalists in Gaza, after photographer Yasser Murtaja was killed while covering protests on Gaza borders.
"Palestinian photographer Yasser Murtaja was wearing a vest marked "Press": He was obviously the victim of an intentional shot," said Christophe Deloire, the Secretary General of RSF, on Twitter.
"RSF condemns absolutely the deliberate shooting of journalists by the Israeli army," he added.
Deloire called for an independent probe into the crime, urging the Israeli government to abide by the UN Resolution 2222 on the protection of journalists adopted in 2015.
He also said that at least six journalists were injured by Israeli gunfire and teargas on Friday.
Photos show Murtaja was wearing the vest when he was being treated by medics after being shot in the abdomen Friday, dying a day later of his wounds. He was covering protests to the east of Khan Younis in the south of Gaza when he was hit.
Murtaja was laid to rest on Saturday, with his 'Press' flak jacket buried with him.
Dozens of Palestinians have been killed by the Israeli army since protests broke out on March 30, demanding a right for refugees to return to their homes from which they were forcibly displaced.
"Palestinian photographer Yasser Murtaja was wearing a vest marked "Press": He was obviously the victim of an intentional shot," said Christophe Deloire, the Secretary General of RSF, on Twitter.
"RSF condemns absolutely the deliberate shooting of journalists by the Israeli army," he added.
Deloire called for an independent probe into the crime, urging the Israeli government to abide by the UN Resolution 2222 on the protection of journalists adopted in 2015.
He also said that at least six journalists were injured by Israeli gunfire and teargas on Friday.
Photos show Murtaja was wearing the vest when he was being treated by medics after being shot in the abdomen Friday, dying a day later of his wounds. He was covering protests to the east of Khan Younis in the south of Gaza when he was hit.
Murtaja was laid to rest on Saturday, with his 'Press' flak jacket buried with him.
Dozens of Palestinians have been killed by the Israeli army since protests broke out on March 30, demanding a right for refugees to return to their homes from which they were forcibly displaced.