Activists and Journalist Attacked by Armed Israeli Settlers in Occupied West Bank

Russian activist Adele Shoko has reported that Israeli settlers assaulted her and two colleagues in the Palestinian village of Umm al-Khair, located in the Masafer Yatta area of the occupied West Bank. Shoko detailed the incident on the social media platform X, stating that she, US journalist Jasper Nathaniel, and Israeli-Russian activist Andrey X were subjected to beatings and threats by armed settlers who also stole their equipment and personal belongings.

“Jasper and I were also beaten. Jasper was then pepper-sprayed and arrested,” Shoko wrote, adding that Israeli forces subsequently took Nathaniel away. Shoko further reported that Andrey X sustained a concussion and lost consciousness multiple times during the assault before being detained by authorities. “Andrey was severely beaten and lost consciousness several times in front of police. Despite this, he was denied hospital treatment. He was put in an ambulance – but instead of being taken to hospital, he was taken to a police station. He is still there, arrested and being denied medical care,” she stated.

Video footage shared online by Shoko depicted several armed men assaulting Nathaniel and Andrey X. Additional video showed Israeli authorities escorting Nathaniel away, with him shouting that he had just been beaten. This alleged assault follows a separate incident on October 16 in Abu Falah, northeast of Ramallah, where masked Israeli settlers attacked Palestinian farmers during olive harvest, setting trees ablaze and using slingshots to throw stones.

During the Abu Falah incident, Washington Post photojournalist Heidi Levine, who was covering the event, was reportedly beaten, robbed, and hospitalized. Israeli soldiers who arrived at the scene fired live ammunition and tear gas, resulting in a Palestinian man being shot in the leg. Levine, identifiable by her "PRESS" vest, stated that settlers repeatedly kicked and beat her while she was on the ground, subsequently stealing her passport, phone, and camera equipment. Washington Post Executive Editor Matt Murray condemned the "unwarranted attack on a journalist doing her job," and several US lawmakers have called for an investigation into the incident and an end to settler violence in the region.