Israelis hold BBC crew at gunpoint

Israeli troops held a BBC TV camera crew and a Palestinian doctor at gunpoint for three hours in the West Bank town of Nablus today before setting them free.

The BBC team was accompanying the doctor, Ghassan Hamdan, as he visited an 80-year-old woman living in an apartment that had been commandeered by the army.

Israeli army spokeswoman Major Sharon Feingold said the military is investigating. “We regret the incident involving the BBC crew,” she said.

Israeli troops routinely take over Palestinian homes for a number of days to use as observation posts.

The journalists were not aware that troops were in the apartment until they entered, said Nick Springate, the BBC’s acting bureau chief in Jerusalem.

Hamdan said the soldiers verbally abused the journalists, jabbed them with their rifles and threatened them when they asked to leave.

Springate said the soldiers also confiscated notebooks and tapes from the reporters.

“The BBC condemns the detention of journalists,” Springate said, adding that the BBC planned to lodge a complaint with the army.

Military officials said the crew happened upon an undercover Israeli operation, and soldiers were concerned for their safety. The crew and the soldiers left together when the danger passed, they said.