Israeli settlers beat veteran Agence France-Presse photographer Jaafar Ashtiyeh, and a Palestinian was shot Tuesday near Aqraba, south of Nablus, according to AFP and Palestinian medical officials, as journalists covered attacks on Palestinians harvesting olives in the northern West Bank. Ashtiyeh, 58, suffered injuries to his head and torso and was hospitalized in Nablus.
According to AFP’s firsthand account, Ashtiyeh and photographer John Wessels were near Palestinian olive pickers when a man approached on a quad bike and opened fire. A Palestinian was seen wounded in the foot. Several armed men then approached the journalists, and two struck Ashtiyeh with their guns as he tried to get into a vehicle. AFP said his camera equipment was taken.
The Palestinian Authority said one Palestinian was shot in the leg and two others were severely beaten in Aqraba.
AFP Global News Director Phil Chetwynd called for an investigation. “We strongly condemn yet another serious attack on journalists trying to report on events in the West Bank and demand a full investigation,” he said. AFP said Israeli soldiers were positioned nearby during the assault.
The Israel Defense Forces and Israel Police did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the Aqraba incident. Separately Tuesday, IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir, Police Commissioner Daniel Levy, and Shin Bet chief David Zini held a joint security assessment that included efforts to “address nationalist crime.” The statement did not refer specifically to Aqraba or the attack on Ashtiyeh.
The incident came during the annual olive harvest, when Palestinian farmers frequently report attacks, vandalism, and difficulty reaching agricultural land near Israeli settlements and outposts.
Settler violence has increased across the West Bank in recent years. Palestinian homes, vehicles, farmland, and olive groves have repeatedly been targeted, while arrests and prosecutions remain uncommon.
More than 500,000 Israeli settlers live in the West Bank alongside about 3 million Palestinians. Most of the international community considers the settlements illegal under international law, a position Israel disputes.
