The head of the Union of Journalists in Israel, Nurit Kanti, sent a letter to Police Chief Kobi Shabtai on Thursday, calling on him to investigate the numerous cases of violence against journalists by protesters and police officers.
The union compiled 17 cases of violence against journalists and members of the media in the last month alone.
"The attacks often come from demonstrators. But no less serious is the violence used by the police against journalists, while ignoring the journalists' public mission to bring the events to the attention of the public, and often keep the journalists away, including quite a few photographers, while resorting to unreasonable violence... This situation where journalists are required to physically fight for their right to do their work is unacceptable," the letter states.
"We request that the Israel Police take urgent action - both to locate and prosecute the attackers of the Channel 13 team and attackers of other journalists. We request that the police forces in the field allow the press teams to carry out their work and even act to ensure and secure their activities in the field," the letter added.