Israeli journalist regrets anti-Arab comments on live TV

JERUSALEM

A senior Israeli journalist has regretted comments on live television that a rocket fired from Lebanon failed to kill Arabs.

"Unfortunately, it did not result in mass deaths there,” Kobi Finkler, a military correspondent, told the Israeli far-right Channel 20, referring to the rocket that exploded in a soccer field in the Arab town of Shefa-Amr on Wednesday.

Finkler later retracted his remarks, saying that he was not supposed to make such statement, and they do not reflect his views on the situation. Channel 20 also offered an apology over Finkler's comments.

Ahmad Tibi, an Arab member of the Israeli Knesset, slammed Finkler's remarks, wondering what would have been the reaction if such comments were made against the Jews.

Lawmaker Mossi Raz from Meretz party, also decried the comments, and demanded that he be fired from the channel.

At least 230 Palestinians have been killed in Israel’s relentless assault on the Gaza Strip since May 10, including 65 children, 39 women, and 17 elderly people.

According to Palestine’s Health Ministry, a further 1,710 people have been injured as Israel continues to pound the besieged Palestinian territory in air strikes.

The UN said on Thursday that Israel’s onslaught has displaced at least 75,000 Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.

Israel launched an offensive on Gaza after Hamas fired rockets in retaliation to days of violent Israeli assaults on Palestinians in occupied East Jerusalem during the holy month of Ramadan.

Israeli police attacked Palestinian worshippers in and around the Al-Aqsa Mosque in the last week of the holy month, while also targeting Palestinians protesting in solidarity with residents of the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood, who are facing eviction after a controversial Israeli court order.

Israeli forces have killed at least 29 Palestinians, including four children, and injured over 6,300 more in the occupied West Bank over the past few days.

Israel occupied East Jerusalem during the 1967 Arab-Israeli war and annexed the entire city in 1980 – a move that has never been recognized by the international community.

*Ahmed Asmar contributed to this report from Ankara