Journalist Assaulted by Israeli Settlers: No Action Taken

An American journalist recently endured a harrowing attack by Israeli settlers while reporting in the West Bank, shedding light on the escalating violence faced by Palestinians and those documenting their plight.

Jasper Nathaniel, a journalist known for his work covering abuses against Palestinians, shared his experience on the Breaking Points program, detailing the dangers journalists face on the ground and what he describes as complicity by the Israeli military in settler violence.

Nathaniel was covering the olive harvest in Tormuziah, a village near Ramallah, where Palestinians were expecting settler aggression. The harvest is a critical time for the community, with farmers heading out in groups for protection. However, their calm was shattered when Nathaniel and others encountered dozens of violent settlers aggressively blocking roads, menacing them with guns, and launching attacks on Palestinian families and their property.

“I was with a group, mostly Palestinian Americans,” Nathaniel explained. “I was the only white person. We tried to get through, but we were trapped between settlers on one side and an Israeli army Jeep on the other. I got out and raised my hands, asking soldiers for safe passage, but they pointed guns at me and questioned me aggressively.” The soldiers initially promised to help, then abandoned the group, leaving them vulnerable to attack.

As settler mobs swarmed the area, Nathaniel described the chaos: “About 100 settlers charged from the hills, smashing cars, dragging people out, and beating them. I started running for my life.” He witnessed a settler smash the windshield of his car and then violently assault an elderly woman who was picking olives, knocking her unconscious and continuing to beat her even as she lay on the ground. Two European activists were also attacked as Nathaniel sought to assist the woman, who was later admitted to intensive care with a brain hemorrhage.

📰 Via Nationalfile