The outrage over Anghel’s presence in the country follows Israel’s expanded occupation into the Golan buffer zone [Getty]
Syrians expressed outrage on Monday after it emerged that Israeli journalist Itai Anghel was allowed to enter the country.
Anghel works for the programme Uvda (“Fact” or “Reality” in Hebrew) on Israel’s Channel 12. On Saturday, he posted a photo of himself at a Damascus café on social media, captioning it “From Damascus with love,” as part of a promotion for his upcoming documentary film about Syria after the fall of the regime of Bashar al-Assad.
In the teaser for his film, Anghel opens by saying, “I can’t believe that, as an Israeli, I could have walked around here,” in a scene showing him among Syrian crowds celebrating Assad’s fall. This is followed by footage of him sitting inside a mosque, listening to the imam’s sermon, and other scenes inside the Iranian embassy.
This prompted a group of Syrians to call for protests on Monday, demanding the government expel Anghel, saying it should be their job to “prevent any settler from entering Syria” and to “reaffirm the unity” of the country following Israel’s continued illegal and expanded occupation of Syria’s south.
The demonstration is set to take place at 2pm on Monday at Al-Hijaz Square.
In a Facebook post, a follower asked whether he had obtained official permission to enter Syria as a foreign journalist. Anghel responded, saying, “I have already visited Syria five times. I could only work after obtaining permission.”
Syria does not recognise Israel as a legitimate state, with Israeli passport holders banned from entry and liable for arrest if found within the country’s borders.
Anghel’s visit to Syria was not his first. n 2012, he travelled to the country with his colleague Amir Tibon from Israel’s Channel 12, visiting Khirbet al-Joz in the Idlib region.
Despite reports in pro-Syrian regime media that opposition fighters accompanied them, Anghel denied this in an interview with France 24, clarifying that he entered Syria using a European passport instead of his Israeli passport. However, earlier Israeli press reports indicated that he possessed an American passport, which he used to enter northern Iraq.
The outrage over Anghel’s presence in Syria comes amid Israel’s occupation of the Golan Heights, which it expanded after the fall of Assad. After rebel forces ousted the Damascus regime, Israeli forces illegally seized the demilitarised buffer zone in a move that violates the 1974 disengagement agreement with Syria. On Sunday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel will occupy the buffer zone “indefinitely”.
Over the years, Anghel has also visited Iraq and Lebanon. Most recently, the journalist, who maintains close ties to the Israeli military, embedded himself with Israeli troops in Gaza as they took part in what many consider the ethnic cleansing of Beit Hanoun.
A few months ago, Anghel shot an episode of Uvda from south Lebanon, where he was embedded with Alexandroni Brigade during Israel’s brutal assault on the country.
