Reporters Without Borders urges thorough investigation into brutal beating of film-maker David Benchetrit

"We would like to see the police investigation pursued with the utmost vigour so that the perpetrators of this shocking violence are arrested and punished in keeping with the seriousness of the attack," the international press freedom organisation said in its letter to minister Tzachi Hanegbi. Reporters Without Borders particularly insisted on the need for "full co-operation between the Defence ministry, in front of which the assault took place, and the Public Security Ministry which is in charge of the police investigation". The organisation also asked to be kept informed of the progress of the investigation, the results of which should be made public in about two weeks. The hard-hitting documentary film-maker was attacked as he prepared to go into the defence ministry for an appointment with ministry spokesperson Ruth Yaron in connection with a film he was making about Israel's conscientious objectors. Stopped by a security guard and told to identity himself, Benchetrit was beaten because he failed to comply quickly enough, but also, according to him, because the guard apparently "took him for an Arab". Three other guards then handcuffed him and rained blows on him with the butts of their guns, as he tried to tell them he was a journalist and had an appointment. Benchetrit still has great difficulty walking as a result of multiple fractures of the right leg and is suffering psychological effects from the blows to his head, including memory lapses and problems with concentration. "Shocked" by the assault, Reporters Without Borders had on 26 April written to Israeli Defence Minister Shaul Mofaz, calling for a "swift and full investigation". In a reply on 5 May, the minister said he was sorry about the incident but asserted that "the security forces acted in a professional manner". He did not refer to the opening of an investigation.