Arab News

LONDON: Israeli police assaulted a reporter from Sky News Arabia on Sunday as he covered a car-ramming attack in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood of Jerusalem.

Israeli police killed a Palestinian youth after he ran over four police officers at a checkpoint in Sheikh Jarrah, which has been at the center of recent tensions.

The Sky News Arabia crew filming at the scene said police assaulted correspondent Firas Lutfi, and tried to break their camera.

“They beat me and tried to break the camera to prevent us from covering,” Lutfi said, adding the crew was able to transmit direct images of the incident and complete the coverage.

Shortly after, police officers were seen violently pushing Lutfi and one officer tried to block the camera with his hand.

Israeli police said four officers were injured in the attack and that the neighborhood has been sealed off.

Clashes erupted in the area between Palestinians and Israeli forces last month after Israel planned to evict Palestinian families living in Sheikh Jarrah to make way for Israeli settlers.

Those protests spread to Al-Aqsa mosque and sparked the exchange of fire between Israel and Hamas in Gaza.