Haaretz photographer Yaron Kaminsky was beaten Tuesday by three Israel Defense Forces officers near the community of Zar'it on the northern border with Lebanon.
The photographer was taking pictures of soldiers who were on their way into the country after fighting ceased in Lebanon.
The officers also confiscated the photographer's equipment. "I arrived at the site at 6:30 A.M. and reserve soldiers who belonged to the battalion I myself served in until a year ago were arriving.
"I hugged and kissed the soldiers, since I know most of them well, and began to photograph. Suddenly, a major leapt out at me and told me, 'Stop shooting!' and began to choke me.
"Shortly thereafter, two more officers joined him - one was a lieutenant colonel and the other a colonel - and they all pushed me, tried to shove me to the floor and take my equipment. Eventually they succeeded," Kaminsky said.
After Kaminsky's equipment was confiscated, the soldiers showed him orders they had received apparently prohibiting civilians from entering the area.
"They showed it to me briefly. I barely got a glance at what was actually written in the orders," Kaminsky said.
He said there were three other photographers from foreign news agencies present at the time, and all of their cameras were taken as well. "Half an hour after they beat me, military police officers arrived and 40 minutes later we were all transported to the northern border road.
"There we met with a field security official. He took a look at the pictures left in the cameras and said to one of the battlion's officers, 'What do you want from them, anyway?'"
Kaminsky added that on his way to Zar'it he had crossed through a military checkpoint and no one had told him that he could not take pictures in the area.
"If the army did not want us to take pictures, all they had to do was ask us. Do you know how embarrassing it was to stand in front of members of my battalion and get beat up by the officers?"
An IDF spokesperson said in response that the IDF views seriously any use of force against journalists and members of the media.
"The event will be examined and dealt with. However, we call on the media and its representatives to respect the IDF's guidelines regarding areas that are designated as closed military zones," the spokesperson said.
