JERUSALEM (JTA) –An Israeli military officer has been removed from his position after soldiers under his command which soldiers caught on film destroying cameras belonging to journalists. During the Sept. 25 incident near Nablus in the West Bank, soldiers smashed the cameras of two photographers for the French news agency AFP as they filmed a Palestinian demonstration. The AFP said that one of the photographers was thrown to the ground and had a gun pointed at him as he looked for his press card. The disciplinary action was announced on Friday, a day after a hearing before IDF Southern Command Chief of Staff Brigadier General Udi Ben-Moha. The IDF said it would consider whether to allow the officer to continue to serve in the military in any capacity. He was suspended after the incident. “This was a serious incident from an ethical and command perspective that will be investigated and its lessons learned,” the IDF said in a statement. The commander’s attorney, Eidan Pesach, said the officer, identified only as A, was “sacrificed on the altar of political and diplomatic interests.” Other members of the officer’s battalion have said they will refuse to serve in the next operation in protest of the punishment. More than 3,600 people have “liked” a Facebook page in support of officer A.   Powered By WizardRSS.com | Full Text RSS Feed