Turkiye's AK Party condemns Israeli mob attack on Anadolu Agency cameraman

By Mumin Altas

ANKARA (AA) – Turkiye's Justice and Development (AK) Party on Thursday denounced far-right Israelis' attack on an Anadolu Agency cameraman in Tel Aviv.

"We condemn the attack by far-right extremists in Israel on Anadolu Agency cameraman Faiz Abu Rmeleh," AK Party spokesperson Omer Celik said on Twitter.

"We expect the authorities to take necessary precautions and punish the assailants," he added.

Abu Rmeleh was attacked by far-right Israelis in the capital Tel Aviv on Wednesday in front of a hospital where a high-profile Palestinian prisoner is undergoing treatment.

An argument erupted between Abu Rmeleh and a far-right Israeli mob while he was waiting in front of the Assaf Harofeh Hospital. When the Israelis learned that Abu Rmeleh is working as a cameraman for Anadolu Agency, they verbally abused and beat him.

Israeli police stepped in and arrested at least two of the assailants. Badly beaten, Abu Rmeleh was given first aid and then himself taken to the hospital.

He was covering the case of Hisham Abu Hawwash, a Palestinian who staged a hunger strike for over 141 days to protest his arrest without trial under Israel's policy of administrative detention.

Abu Hawwash agreed to suspend his strike after Israel agreed to release him on Feb. 26, his lawyer said on Wednesday.

Since ending his hunger strike, Abu Hawwash has been undergoing treatment at the hospital.