Netanyahu’s security asked journalist to strip before entering the conference room

FPA said in a statement that it was “disturbed and disappointed” by Safadi’s treatment by Netanyahu’s security

Israel’s Foreign Press Association protested on Monday about the “humiliating” treatment of a photographer by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s security during a press conference with French Prime Minister Manuel Valls.

Atef Safadi, chief photojournalist with the European Pressphoto Agency, said Netanyahu’s security detail demanded he take off his pants when he arrived to cover the meeting as a pool photographer. Safadi refused and left the press conference.

The FPA said in a statement that it was “disturbed and disappointed” by Safadi’s treatment by Netanyahu’s security, and that the photo agencies were boycotting photos from the event.

“The FPA again calls on security agencies to respect the right of journalists at such events, who already hold Israeli government press accreditation, to do their work without demanding that they endure intimate and humiliating security inspections,” the FPA said.

Source: Times of Israel