Israel mulls ban on filming, photographing soldiers amid bloody protest crackdown

Israeli lawmakers have discussed a proposed law that would ban people from filming Israeli soldiers committing human rights violations against Palestinians.

The Knesset's legislation committee discussed the controversial proposal on Sunday, Haaretz reported, amid a bloody crackdown on protests in the Gaza Strip.

The bill would punish anyone who takes videos or photos of soldiers "to disturb morale" with five-year prison sentences.

It would hand down ten-year sentences to people filming troops "with the aim of destabilising state security".

The move is a response to activists exposing Israeli rights violations against Palestinians in the media and on social networks.

In 2016, an Israeli soldier shot dead a Palestinian who lay immobile on the floor in an incident that was caught on video by a human rights group and spread widely online.

The soldier was released in May after serving nine months behind bars - half his original sentence.

Last month, a video surfaced showing a group of Israeli soldiers cheering after a sniper shoots an unarmed Palestinian near the Gaza border fence.

At least 116 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire and over 10,000 have been injured since mass demonstrations began March 30.

Palestinian teenager Ahed Tamimi was sentenced to eight months in prison after a video went viral of her slapping two Israeli soldiers.