Israel Communications Minister Yoaz Hendel was outraged over the behavior of the mainstream media during Thursday’s terror event in Tel Aviv.
“A mother should not watch her son searching homes for a terrorist… the people of Israel should not be listening to the radio messages between police and the IDF,” Hendel said in a statement, adding that “what happened yesterday crossed a line.”
Following the terrorist shooting in central Tel Aviv that took the lives of two Israelis and left at least seven others wounded, the Palestinian perpetrator managed to flee, sparking a night-long manhunt by police and IDF soldiers.
But the security forces were not alone. Hot on their heels were cameramen and reporters for Israel’s mainstream media outlets.
Reports and information were shared in realtime, often without permission or verification, and despite repeated calls by police and soldiers for the journalists to back off.