The Israel Police apologized for detaining the Washington Post Jerusalem bureau chief and a colleague after accusing them of “incitement.”
The police in a statement issued Feb. 16 said the information provided to the officers that led to the journalists’ detention was “without foundation.”
“We regret if any distress was caused to those who were detained,” said the statement.
William Booth, the bureau chief, and the newspaper’s Palestinian West Bank correspondent were interviewing passers-by at the Damascus Gate outside the Old City when they were detained and questioned at a nearby police station following accusations of incitement. They were released an hour later.
A civilian had complained to police after he heard one of the interviewees tell Booth she could convince some of the Palestinians in the area to demonstrate against the police if he paid them.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu asserted shortly after the incident that Israel is committed to a free press.
“We do not arrest journalists,” Netanyahu said at a news conference in Berlin with German Chancellor Angela Merkel.
“The press in Israel is very energetic and free to say anything it wants.” — jta