Palestinian TV producer Haya Yasmeen assaulted by Israeli forces in West Bank

Palestinian-American television producer and presenter Haya Yasmeen was visibly assaulted and detained by Israeli soldiers as she was walking in Hebron, occupied West Bank, in video clips she shared online on Monday.

The Middle East Broadcasting Corporation (MBC) producer was in the Palestinian city with her mother to film a glass workshops segment when the incident occurred.

Haya Yasmeen is an @mbc1 producer & presenter on Sabah El-Kheir ya Arab. She was in Hebron to film the glass workshops.
After the segment, she got assaulted and detained while on a walk with her mother.

Israel's Apartheid Enforcers never miss a chance to assault a journalist 🤡 pic.twitter.com/rMCwVP0Rjn

— Jalal (@JalalAK_jojo) May 23, 2022

Yasmeen said the two Israeli soldiers accused her of filming them before then proceeding to attack her as soon as she showed them her phone. She can be heard saying "if you touch me, I’ll film you," in clips shared online. The soldiers then went on to grab her, visibly distressing the producer. In another clip, the soldiers are seen forcibly taking for detention.

The TV producer, who presents the topical morning show "Sabah El Kheir Ya Arab" on the Dubai-based MBC1 channel, called her assault a "humiliation" in the clip.

The incident follows the recent killing of veteran Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh on 11 May, who was shot by Israeli soldiers as she was covering raids on refugee camps in Jenin. Abu Akleh's death provoked outrage worldwide.

 

 

 

 

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A post shared by HayaYasmeen هيا ياسمين (@hayayasmeen)

In an Instagram post, Yasmeen said she "feared for her life" and kept the camera on in order to record the incident, where she can be heard saying "I am an American citizen", and held up her US passport. She stated that the Israeli soldiers replied with "I don’t give a f*ck".

"They forcefully grabbed and detained me, and I was then taken into a room and fully strip searched, while they pointed a gun at my mom and continuously yelling and threating us both," she added.

Yasmeen appeared to be released some time after, according to her social media posts, but it not clear when.

In a separate statement, she expressed that she is suffering from anxiety and post-trauma following her ordeal. Yasmeen also added that she is unable to leave her bed and that she feels "paralysed" and "light-headed".

She also highlighted the trauma that Palestinians regularly endure when subjected to Israeli harassment and detention.

"The trauma is there, it exists for every Palestinian… inherited over generations of displacement, horror, assault, killing, humiliations an injustice," she added.

Israeli soldiers regularly assault and detain Palestinian journalists covering events in the West Bank and the besieged Gaza. In 2021 alone, The Palestinian Journalists Syndicate documented at least 870 violations against journalists.