Three journalists and activists report physical assault by armed settlers in West Bank

Russian activist Adele Shoko reported that armed Israeli settlers assaulted her and two colleagues in the Palestinian village of Umm al-Khair on Wednesday.

The incident occurred in the Masafer Yatta area of the occupied West Bank. Shoko stated on the social media platform X that she, US journalist Jasper Nathaniel, and Israeli-Russian activist Andrey X were beaten and threatened by the group.

Shoko said the settlers stole equipment and personal items during the confrontation. She noted that Nathaniel was pepper-sprayed and subsequently arrested by Israeli forces. Andrey X suffered a concussion and lost consciousness multiple times before being detained.

Shoko claimed Andrey X was denied hospital treatment despite his condition. She wrote that authorities placed him in an ambulance but transported him to a police station instead of a medical facility. He remained at the station arrested and without medical care as of her post.

Video footage posted by Shoko showed several men, some carrying weapons, striking Nathaniel and Andrey X. Additional clips captured Israeli authorities leading Nathaniel away while he shouted that he had just been beaten.

This assault follows a separate incident on October 16 in Abu Falah, northeast of Ramallah. Masked settlers attacked Palestinian farmers harvesting olives, setting trees on fire and throwing stones with slingshots.

Washington Post photojournalist Heidi Levine was covering that earlier attack when settlers beat and robbed her. She was hospitalized after losing her passport, phone, and camera equipment. Israeli soldiers fired live ammunition and tear gas at the scene, shooting a Palestinian man in the leg. Washington Post Executive Editor Matt Murray described the event as an unwarranted attack, and several US lawmakers called for an investigation into settler violence.