A Palestinian journalist shot in the leg by Israeli forces will receive no compensation for the injury, continuing a worrying trend of the Jewish state’s military facing no consequences for harming Palestinian reporters.

Freelance photographer and journalist Ahmad Tal’at was covering a protest in the West Bank in 2015 when he was shot in the leg — by, he claimed, an unknown member of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF).

972 Mag reports that, according to a lawsuit filed on his behalf, Tal’at at the time was wearing a vest with “PRESS” printed on it as well as a helmet, and was carrying three large professional cameras, which he said made him easily recognizable as reporter. He also claimed he was shot while standing on the side of the road, accompanied by other journalists.

The IDF had a different story. Its lawyers said Tal’at’s lawsuit was merely “another in a series of cases in which those who were among the rioters and those riling up the crowd to riot dare to file a lawsuit as if they are the victims,” according to 972 Mag.

IDF lawyers argued that Tal’at’s injury occurred after the protest had ended, and “that even if Tal’at was wounded that day, ‘it was in the context of attacks by the rioters that endangered the security forces there,’” 972 Mag reports.

972mag translated the story and lawsuit from Hebrew to English from Israeli magazine The Seventh Eye.

The judge hearing the case at a top Israeli court sided with the IDF, ruling that Tal’at would not receive compensation for his injures. The reason, per the judge, is that he was shot during an “act of war,” and thus Israel is exempt from any liability. The IDF, therefore, doesn’t have to pay Tal’at for any damages. Tal’at was seeking 40,000 Israeli shekels (about $11,600) in recompense.

At first, this could seem like an isolated case. The problem is that Tal’at is the latest in a long line of Palestinian reporters that Israeli security forces have harmed or killed but failed to compensate. Security forces also rarely, if ever, face legal consequences for their actions.

Even more troubling, there’s no sign that this trend will end anytime soon.

Israel’s abuse of journalists is nothing new

Palestinian journalists frequently report abuse by Israeli security forces.

In April 2018, Ahmed Abu Hussein was shot in the abdomen while covering Gaza border protests, in which demonstrators demanded the right to return to their ancestral homes in Israel. Hussein died from his wounds two weeks later.

A day later, Yaser Murtaja was fatally shot in the abdomen by Israeli snipers while covering the same protest. He, like Tal’at, was wearing a vest marked clearly marked with “PRESS.” The Palestinian Journalists Syndicate in Gaza said five more Palestinian journalists covering the event were wounded.

In November 2019, Muath Amarneh was blinded in one eye after Israeli Border Police opened fire to disperse protesters at a demonstration near the West Bank city of Hebron. Other journalists at the scene said Amarneh was hit by a bullet that ricocheted off a demonstrator. Again, Amarneh wore a clearly marked “PRESS” vest.

Two months later, Israeli troops fractured Abdul Mohsen Shalaldeh’s skull while he reported on demonstrations against President Donald Trump’s Israel-Palestine peace plan. He feels he was targeted “as a clear message to journalists that they had to leave the field,” he told AlAraby.

Clearly, there is a sustained pattern. But if Tal’at’s case is any indication, there is little hope for change or recourse.

“The ruling against Tal’at is a blow to the hopes for redress of Palestinian journalists who were injured or killed because it gives full impunity to members of the IDF … whether or not their actions are in line with the IDF’s own regulations,” Ignacio Miguel Delgado Culebras, the Middle East and North Africa representative for the Committee to Protect Journalists, told me.

He also noted that he’s unaware of any cases in which Palestinian journalists received compensation for their injuries. What’s more, in many of these cases, the IDF has failed to employ nonlethal methods to deal with demonstrators while ensuring the safety of journalists. In fact, Culebras said the IDF routinely delays any investigations into its misconduct.

Which means it’s more likely than not that the IDF will continue this behavior — and Palestinian reporters will continue to suffer.

Five people were killed Wednesday when a shooter opened fire at the Molson Coors beer company complex in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

According to local police chief Alfonso Morales, the shooter, a 51-year-old former employee of the brewery, also died as a result of a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

Police began receiving reports of the shooting at around 2 pm local time Wednesday. Shortly after, employees at Molson Coors began receiving text messages warning them of the active shooter.

All five victims were employees of Molson Coors. None of the victims have been named thus far. Police have not yet discussed possible motives.

Molson Coors president and CEO Gavin Hattersley said that “corporate offices will be closed for the rest of the week and the breweries will remain closed for the time being,” according to CNN.

“There are no words to express the deep sadness many of us are feeling right now,” Hattersley said.

President Donald Trump expressed his condolences during a coronavirus briefing on Wednesday afternoon:

Our hearts go out to the families of those whose lives were senselessly taken, all of the folks and workers at Molson Coors, and the Milwaukee community as we grapple with yet another act of gun violence that will have long-lasting consequences for this community and our state.

It was at least the 11th mass shooting in Wisconsin since 2004. There have been 45 mass shootings in the US since the beginning of 2020.

And just hours before the shooting, Wisconsin’s Democratic Gov. Tony Evers called on lawmakers to push forward legislation aimed at tightening the state’s gun laws.

In response to Evers, “Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald, R-Juneau, made it clear that Wisconsin’s gun laws would not change under a Republican-controlled Legislature,” USA Today reported, “reminding voters of the longstanding divide that all but ensures deadly incidents like Wednesday’s aren’t going to spur new gun policies anytime soon.”

For more coverage on gun violence, visit Vox’s gun violence section.

Scotland has taken a big step toward becoming the first country in the world to end “period poverty” — the lack of access to menstrual hygiene products like pads and tampons due to financial hardship.

The Scottish Parliament on Tuesday approved legislation that would make pads and tampons freely available to all who need them at designated public places such as community centers, youth clubs, and pharmacies, according to Reuters.

The bill passed with 112 votes in favor and one abstainer, and will now enter the second phase during which legislators can propose amendments to the bill.

This follows Scotland’s 2018 decision to make sanitary products free to all students in schools, colleges, and universities in the country, according to the Guardian.

It was the first nation to do that, too.

The bill was first put forward by Scottish Labour Party politician Monica Lennon in 2017. Speaking during the debate in Parliament this week, Lennon said passing the bill would be a “milestone moment for normalizing menstruation in Scotland and sending out that real signal to people in this country about how seriously parliament takes gender equality.”

The program would cost an estimated $31.2 million annually, according to Reuters.

Scotland is part of the United Kingdom, where sanitary products are currently taxed at 5 percent, Reuters reports, in accordance with European Union tax rates.

Period poverty and menstruation stigma in the United Kingdom means that 10 percent of girls are unable to afford sanitary products, according to a study by Plan International, an independent development and humanitarian organization.

According to UN Dispatch, 800 million people menstruate every day. Menstrual hygiene is seen by many as a basic human right, but sanitary products catering to people who menstruate are often treated as luxury items.

Period poverty subjects many to physical health risks such as reproductive and urinary tract infections.

Besides the health risks, period poverty means that those who menstruate cannot reach their full potential as the lack of sanitary products hinders them from living their day-to-day lives.

This can include tasks as basic as going to school.

Period poverty isn’t just reserved for developing countries. In some countries, it’s a matter of the taboo that surrounds menstrual hygiene. In other countries, it’s a matter of unaffordability.

Details of how the Scottish government plans on implementing this bill are yet to be determined, but even this first step is a positive sign for people in Scotland who suffer from period poverty.