Israeli settlers beat AFP photographer covering violence in West Bank - The Washington Post

A veteran photographer for Agence France‑Presse, 58‑year‑old Jaafar Ashtiyeh, was assaulted by Israeli settlers on 6 October while documenting violence against Palestinian olive farmers near the northern West Bank village of Aqraba. Ashtiyeh and fellow AFP photographer John Wessels were standing on a hill about 500 metres from the olive harvest when they observed an Israeli soldier detaining a Palestinian worker.

During the incident a man on a quad bike accelerated toward the journalists and opened live fire, striking a Palestinian who fell to the ground and was later hospitalized with a gunshot wound to the foot, according to the Palestine Red Crescent Society. At the same time, a group of settlers approached the AFP team. Two of the settlers tackled Ashtiyeh as he tried to reach a nearby vehicle marked “Press” and struck him repeatedly with the butts of their rifles. Witnesses, his family and other journalists reported that Ashtiyeh suffered bruises to his head and torso.

Approximately a dozen armed Israeli soldiers were present on the scene but did not intervene as the assault took place. Wessels said he heard Ashtiyeh’s screams and was himself threatened at gunpoint while the settlers continued to fire in the vicinity. Six additional settlers are reported to have rushed toward the journalists, with two of them participating in the beating of Ashtiyeh.

After the attack, Ashtiyeh was taken by ambulance to a hospital in Nablus. X‑ray examinations did not reveal any broken bones, but he remained under observation for treatment of his injuries. The Palestinian authorities confirmed his hospitalization, while the AFP team noted that he would stay in the hospital for further monitoring.

The episode occurred amid a broader surge in settler violence against Palestinian olive growers during the harvest season, a period that has become increasingly tense as Israeli elections approach at the end of the month. Human‑rights observers note that such attacks on farmers and journalists often result in few legal repercussions for the perpetrators.