In a strongly-worded statement, Turkish Presidential Communications Director Fahrettin Altun condemned Israeli police for halting a live broadcast by TRT Arabic correspondent Fehmi Shtewe in Haifa and seizing the crew’s equipment.
Altun denounced the incident as “the latest manifestation of madness” and accused Israel of continuing its “lawless actions against journalists who expose its massacres, bloodshed, and destabilizing agenda in the region.”
“Israeli authorities are relentlessly targeting journalists who reveal their war crimes and the threat they pose to regional and global peace,” Altun said in a post on social media. “This latest incident—where Israeli police forcibly interrupted a live broadcast and confiscated media equipment—is yet another attack on press freedom.”
The TRT Arabic team, alongside Egypt’s Alghad TV, was reportedly subjected to force as Israeli police entered the live broadcasting site. According to Altun, the journalists were merely fulfilling their duty to report, yet faced unlawful aggression.
“We strongly condemn this vile assault on freedom of the press and the right to information,” Altun stated.
Highlighting the international silence surrounding such incidents, he added:
“When the perpetrator is Israel, the so-called democratic institutions of the West turn a blind eye to all norms and values. We leave this hypocrisy to the judgment of the global public.”
Altun concluded by reaffirming Turkey’s commitment to press freedom:
“We will continue to stand firmly in defense of journalists’ rights and the freedom of expression around the world.”
