AFP Photographers Attacked by Settlers in the West Bank, Leaving One Hospitalized
An Agence France-Presse (AFP) photographer was beaten by armed Israeli settlers yesterday (Tuesday) while covering violence against Palestinian olive farmers in the occupied West Bank, according to witnesses and colleagues.
Jaafar Ashtiyeh, 58, a veteran AFP photographer, was working with fellow AFP photographer John Wessels near the northern Palestinian village of Aqraba. The journalists were covering the olive harvest when they saw an Israeli soldier detaining a man as Palestinians gathered olives nearby.
According to Wessels, a man riding a quad bike then approached the photojournalists from a nearby hill and opened fire. According to a report in The Washington Post, a Palestinian man was wounded in the foot and later hospitalized.
At least six other people subsequently moved toward the photographers while firing weapons, Wessels says. Ashtiyeh attempted to reach a vehicle clearly marked “Press,” but two men followed him, jumped onto him, and repeatedly struck him with the butts of their rifles.
“I could hear his screams,” Wessels, who says he was threatened at gunpoint, tells AFP. He says the attackers also took Ashtiyeh’s camera equipment.
Wessels says about a dozen armed Israeli soldiers were positioned roughly 550 yards (500 meters) from the journalists when the attack occurred but did not intervene.
Ashtiyeh was taken by ambulance to a hospital in Nablus. He suffered bruising to his head and torso, and X-rays found no broken bones, according to his son, Zain Jaafar. He remains in hospital under observation.
Phil Chetwynd, AFP’s global news director, condemns the assault and is calling for a full investigation.
“We strongly condemn yet another serious attack on journalists trying to report on events in the West Bank and demand a full investigation,” Chetwynd tells The Guardian.
“It is unacceptable that journalists can be beaten and robbed by armed settlers in front of Israeli security forces who made no attempt to intervene.”
The Foreign Press Association, which represents international media working in Israel and the Palestinian territories, says it is “deeply alarmed” by the incident. It calls on Israeli authorities to investigate why soldiers at the scene did not intervene to protect the photojournalists who were clearly identified as members of the press.
The association says the attack was intended to intimidate journalists and obstruct reporting from the West Bank, adding that international media would continue their work despite physical assaults and threats.
The assault took place amid an increase in settler violence against Palestinians in the West Bank, including attacks on farmers during the annual olive harvest. The harvest is an important source of income for many Palestinian families, and clashes and attacks have intensified in recent months.
Ashtiyeh was also injured while covering the olive harvest in the West Bank last year, when AFP reported that Israeli settlers attacked olive pickers and journalists with sticks and stones. At the time, Ashtiyeh said Israeli soldiers present at the scene did not stop the attackers.
Image creditsHeader photo licensed via Depositphotos.
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