West Bank: Suspected settlers beat Washington Post photographer
Masked men attacking olive harvesters near Ramallah injured an American photojournalist and several Palestinians. Netanyahu vowed accountability but said the facts remain unclear.
Symbolic image · Photo: Orrling / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0 (cropped and resized)
An American photojournalist working for The Washington Post was injured Friday in an attack on Palestinian olive harvesters in the occupied West Bank. Dozens of masked men, believed to be Israeli settlers, descended on farmers in the village of Abu Falah northeast of Ramallah, throwing stones and setting olive trees on fire, according to witnesses and video footage. The journalist was pushed to the ground, beaten and kicked, and her cameras were taken. She was treated at a hospital in Ramallah and was reported in stable condition. She said her flak jacket and helmet protected her from worse injuries.
Several Palestinians were hurt in Abu Falah and the nearby villages of Burqa and Turmus Ayya, one of them shot in the thigh, according to the Palestinian news agency Wafa and the Palestine Red Crescent. The Israeli military said troops dispersed a "violent confrontation" and fired at a suspect who ran toward them carrying a sharp object. Police opened an investigation. Washington Post Executive Editor Matt Murray said the paper was "outraged by this unwarranted attack" and called for a thorough investigation. The journalist was wearing a protective vest marked "PRESS."
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the facts "remain unclear and are under investigation" and that "those responsible will be held accountable." The Binyamin Regional Council, which represents settlers, called the incident a "planned provocation." The Israeli rights group Yesh Din has recorded at least 170 settler attacks during the olive harvest since Sept. 27, according to Reuters.