Israeli settlers attack AFP journalists in West Bank, five people injured

JANNATAH, West Bank, Aug 26 — Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank attacked AFP journalists covering tensions with Palestinians, resulting in at least five people being injured, according to the reporters and medics. The international news agency sent a three-person team to Jannatah, near Bethlehem, to report on Israeli activists conducting solidarity visits to support Palestinians facing harassment from settlers.

After an altercation between settlers and activists, Israeli military ordered the journalists to leave a "closed military zone," at which point additional settlers arrived. The settlers, mostly children, threw stones at the journalists and activists. One AFP journalist managed to dodge a stone but then a child settler struck him in the chin with a stick, causing minor bleeding.

The journalists returned to find their two parked cars damaged, with smashed back windshields and punctured tires. Similar damage was reported on activists' cars. Five individuals were treated for injuries, with AFP journalists witnessing at least one Israeli activist being taken away in a Palestinian ambulance. An Israeli soldier briefly seized a video journalist's camera before returning it, though the military spokesperson stated the confiscation is under review.

Israeli police joined the military to investigate the damage to cars, with a police investigation officially opened. Over 500,000 Israelis reside in the West Bank, a territory Israel has occupied since 1967 and home to approximately three million Palestinians. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's right-wing government has intensified construction plans ahead of the October 27 elections.

Tensions between Israelis and Palestinians have escalated since the October 7, 2023 Hamas attack from Gaza.