# Nazeh Darwazi

Nazeh Darwazi (also spelled Darwazeh; died 19 April 2003), was a Palestinian freelance cameraman for the US news agency Associated Press Television Network (APTN) and Palestinian state television when he was killed in Nablus in the West Bank while reporting by a bullet in the head fired by an Israeli soldier from a distance of about 20 yards (6.9 m) after having pointed his weapon at group of journalists.
Darwazi was one of five journalists to die while reporting on the Second Intifada between 2002 and 2003.

## Early life

Nazeh Darwazi is believed to have been born between 1958 and 1961; various accounts of his age were reported. He was raised in Nablus, where he lived with his partner, Raeda, and their five children. His funeral was reported to have attracted over a thousand people. Darwazi worked for The Associated Press for two years. He was also a journalist for Palestinian television.

## Death

Eighteen Palestinians were injured by rubber bullets and live fire during clashes between Israeli troops and Palestinians throwing stones. Darwazi was filming fights between Israeli troops and Palestinians in the central Casbah district (Old City), when he was shot through the back of his head by an Israeli soldier positioned behind a tank 6.9m away. Tony Loughran (ZeroRisk International), Independent investigator for APTN, has edited previous information on Wikipedia which stated that Nazeh was shot through his right eye from the front, and validated this during the course of his investigation in April 2003. He was wearing a yellow jacket marked "press" and was with a group of around six journalists covering fights between the group of Palestinians and Israeli soldiers. The journalists said their group had shouted in English and Hebrew making clear that they were with the media. Three people filmed the event, including a Reuters cameraman. At first the army claimed they were under attack by armed Palestinians who had been throwing explosives, but witnesses claimed the soldier shot the journalist in cold blood without any exchange of fire.

## Investigation

Reporters Without Borders investigated the event and found that the army had not interviewed eyewitnesses. The soldiers had been questioned, but nobody was punished. The Palestinian Authority stated that Israel had "committed a war crime" by "opening fire on journalists and other civilians". ZeroRisk International & The Associated Press said two Palestinian cameramen, Hassan Titi from Reuters and Sami al-Assi from a Palestinian station, confirmed that they saw soldier take aim and fire at the journalists. Video footage taken by Reuters confirms a soldier kneeling by a tank pointing a rifle down the alley where the journalists were wearing yellow Press vests. Darwazeh fell to his death shortly after the soldier fired.
The Israeli investigation said that Israeli soldiers had been shot at before returning fire when Darwazi was killed. The APTN / ZRI report categorically disputed such a claim and has evidence to prove that the Islraeli soldier shot Nazeh as he turned to his right to film Palestinian children being taken to an ambulance

## Context

Some of the journalists who were killed during the Second Intifada include Raffaele Ciriello, Italian; and Imad Abu Zahra and Issam Tillawi, who were both Palestinian. Two weeks after the Darwazi killing, James Miller was also killed on 2 May 2003 by the Israel Defense Forces while making a film about the Second Intifada.
Nazeh Darwazi was covering the Passover clashes in Nablus when he was killed. Israeli troops arrested several Palestinians in Nablus on suspicion of a planning a potential suicide attack during Passover. Three of the four were arrested around Casbah; the fourth turned himself in at a military checkpoint. In Rafah, five Palestinians were killed by Israeli troops during a raid of a nearby refugee camp in the southern Gaza strip. Twenty-seven people total were wounded in the raid. At the time, Palestinian leader, Yasir Arafat was in a dispute with his handpicked prime minister, Mahmoud Abbas, over the formation of a new government.

## Reaction

On Monday 23 April 2003, in front of the International Red Cross headquarters in Al-Khalil district, a group of Palestinian journalists staged a sit-in to publicly declare their disgust with what happened. The Palestinian Authority accused the IDF of war crimes.
Reporters Without Borders, which is based in France, urged President Jacques Chirac to bring the issue of journalist security and safety up when he met with Israeli Moshe Katzav in 2004.
The Committee to Protect Journalists issued statement about Nazeh Darwazi's death. Joel Simon, CPJ, said, "We demand an immediate and thorough inquiry into the shooting death of Nazih Darwazeh and call on you to ensure that those responsible are swiftly brought to justice."
Nazeh Darwazi’s body was wrapped in the Palestinian flag and carried from the Rafidyeh hospital by representatives of the Palestinian press. Those carrying Darwazi chanted against Israel. They carried his body to the funeral, which was attended by more than 1,000 people.