Arledge Alleges That Israelis Posed as ABC News Crew
NEW YORK — ABC News President Roone Arledge has sharply protested to Israeli officials what he said were Israel security forces who posed as an ABC News crew to lure a Palestinian youth to his arrest, the network said Wednesday.
“Such activity presents grave perils to the safety of legitimate journalists,†Arledge said in a cable to Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir.
In his protest, sent Tuesday, Arledge demanded an immediate investigation, said ABC News was “deeply distressed†by the incident three weeks ago in a village in the occupied West Bank, and added:
“I also ask you to affirm that it is not the policy of the Israeli government to pose as journalists for whatever reason. There are no circumstances that could justify security forces impersonating ABC News personnel.â€
Yediot Ahrnot, a Hebrew-language newspaper in Jerusalem, reported the incident and said it occurred in a village 20 miles north of Jerusalem. The newspaper said villagers claimed that Israeli security forces posing as an ABC News crew lured the Palestinian youth into their car on the pretext of seeking an interview, then arrested him for throwing firebombs.
The Israeli government had not yet replied to Arledge, a spokeswoman for him said Wednesday.
In Israel, the Associated Press quoted a Shamir aide as saying the prime minister had received Arledge’s cable and that “we are going to check the whole issue. I cannot tell you now what our response will be.â€
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