The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) strongly condemned the latest serious attack by Israeli forces on a Palestinian journalist in the southern occupied the West Bank.

IFJ said in a statement that photojournalist Moath Amarneh lost sight in the left eye after being hit with a rubber bullet fired by an Israeli soldier in the Surif region of the Hebron governorate.

At the time of the shooting Amarneh was reportedly covering a protest against land confiscation. He was rushed to a hospital in Hebron for emergency treatment.

Anthony Bellanger, IFJ General Secretary, said: "Once again, the IFJ deplores the attacks on Palestinian journalists by the Israeli military. The IFJ recalls that international law applies everywhere and that no government is above it.”

“It is now time for the United Nations General Assembly to adopt the Convention for the Protection and Safety of Journalists so that the impunity enjoyed by predators of press freedom and democracy can end in Israel as elsewhere”, added Bellanger.

There have been several other incidents recorded in recent years about Israel’s deliberate shooting of journalists. International law prohibits the deliberate targeting of journalists, particularly those wearing clearly-marked bullet-proof vests signed Press.

The illegitimacy of attacks on journalists derives from the protection granted to civilians and civilian objects under international humanitarian law, and from the fact that the media, even when used for propaganda purposes, cannot be considered as military objectives except in special cases where they make an effective contribution to military action.