Israeli army shoots at Swedish reporters in Ramallah

Two Swedish TV reporters were shot at in the West Bank yesterday afternoon, 16 April. The incident occurred near Arafat’s headquarters in Ramallah, according to the Swedish newspaper Aftonbladet.

The Swedish TV crew encountered an Israeli tank, which suddenly opened fire on their car with a machine gun. The shots went over the car and were interpreted by the reporters as warning shots, so they turned the car around. As they were driving back they were shot at again, this time by an Israeli sniper.

The reporters, Peder Carlquist and Odd Ragnar Lund from Swedish State TV, managed to escape unharmed by laying down on the floor and driving as fast as they could out of the area. The reporters say the shots were fired from a short distance, or 15-20 meters, and that the bullets were live ammunition rather than rubber bullets. The car was hit several times and a window was broken.

The Swedish TV station intends to issue a formal protest to Israeli authorities regarding this incident.