The Israeli police is operating a special department in the occupied West Bank to monitor foreign journalists who wish to enter Israel or the occupied Palestinian territory.
According to a report by Haaretz on Tuesday, the special police department works closely with Israel's Population and Immigration Authority, which is stationed at international crossings as well as the Allenby Bridge Crossing in the West Bank.
Haaretz obtained a police document detailing articles and social media activity by Alessandro Stefanelli, an Italian freelance journalist, who entered Israel and the West Bank several times in the past.
The police deemed Stefanelli critical of Israel, branding him "a journalist and photographer who provides one-sided coverage of Israel".
In July last year, the Italian journalist was informed that his visa to Israel had been revoked, with the Israeli embassy in Rome not providing any explanation as to why his visa was cancelled.
Despite this, Stefanelli tried to enter the West Bank through the Allenby Bridge Crossing, which connects the Palestinian territory to Jordan, but was denied entry by the Population and Immigration Authority.
Stefanelli "calls for international intervention against 'settler violence' and draws a one-sided map" a police report said after he filed a petition to an Israeli court to grant him access to Israel and the West Bank, further accusing the journalist of being "in contact with militants".
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