Last update - 00:00 05/11/2007
Cop impersonation of reporters in arrest raid raises ire of Ch. 2
By Asaf Carmel, Haaretz Correspondent
Tel Aviv District Police officers impersonated Channel Two television reporters three weeks ago in an undercover operation to arrest a Palestinian suspect, raising the ire of the news company who claims the activity was carried off without its approval.
The affair was revealed in a scathing letter written by Channel Two CEO Avi Weiss to Israel Police Chief David Cohen. According to company officials, the police officers insisted they were personally given permission by district police chief Ilan Franco to carry out the impersonation. A spokesman of Israel Police's national headquarters confirmed that the undercover operation occurred.
The suspect arrested in the operation was a Palestinian man named Nadim Injaz, 30, who in August 2006 locked himself in the British embassy in Tel Aviv and demanded political asylum.
After eight hours, security forces managed to gain control of Injaz - who claimed that he had in the past collaborated with the Shin Bet - and learned that the weapon in his possession at the time was plastic. Injaz was tried and sentenced to a year's term in prison, which recently ended.
Police officers last month dressed up as reporters in order to meet with Injaz again, after learning that he planned to commit another criminal act, Channel Two CEO Weiss said.
Police arrested Injaz last month as he was trying to force his way into an army base in Tel Aviv to protest his alleged neglect by Israeli authorities. He arrived at the base's gate threatening to cause provocations because he said he had received no support or protection from Israel, despite his status as former informant. His permit allowing him to stay in Israel was due to expire within days of the arrest.
"According to information we have received, police officers recently dressed up as Channel Two news people under cover of a police investigation," Weiss wrote in his letter to the Israel Police chief.
"The affair was part of an attempt to arrest the man who had once infiltrated the British Embassy, and according to a Channel 10 report, was threatening to commit additional crimes. To the best of our knowledge, after the broadcast, police officers called the man and presented themselves as news people. They arranged a time to meet and there they arrested him."
Weiss added that the incident must be viewed with extreme gravity as it poses "a real danger to the freedom of expression and journalism in Israel."
"As part of a general security action, regarding a heavy and immediate concern for the lives of individuals, operative steps were taken to arrest them suspect," an Israel Police spokesman said in response. "...the relevant reporter was uopated by a Tel Aviv district spokesman with regard to this activity."
Related articles: