Armed Israeli settlers attacked three activists in the Palestinian village of Umm al-Khair on Thursday, according to social media accounts from the victims. Russian activist Adele Shoko stated online that she was targeted alongside US journalist Jasper Nathaniel and Israeli-Russian activist Andrey X in the Masafer Yatta region of the occupied West Bank.
Shoko reported that the armed assailants beat them, delivered threats, and took away equipment and personal belongings. Video footage published by Shoko captured several men, some carrying weapons, striking Nathaniel and Andrey X.
"Jasper and I were also beaten," Shoko wrote. She added that Nathaniel received pepper spray before Israeli forces removed him from the location.
Another clip showed authorities leading Nathaniel away as he shouted that he had just suffered a beating. Shoko stated that Andrey X sustained a concussion and lost consciousness multiple times during the encounter before being detained.
"Andrey was severely beaten and lost consciousness several times in front of police," Shoko wrote. She stated that he did not receive hospital care despite being placed inside an ambulance that transported him directly to a police station instead of a medical facility.
This confrontation follows an earlier incident on October 16 in Abu Falah, northeast of Ramallah, where masked Israeli settlers targeted Palestinian farmers during the olive harvest. The attackers set fire to trees and used slingshots to hurl stones at civilians.
Washington Post photojournalist Heidi Levine, who documented that assault, sustained injuries that required hospitalisation after being beaten and robbed. Levine, wearing a protective press vest, stated that settlers repeatedly kicked her while she was on the ground and took her passport, telephone, and camera gear.
Matt Murray, executive editor at The Washington Post, condemned the unwarranted attack on a journalist doing her job. Several US lawmakers demanded an official inquiry and an end to ongoing settler violence in the territory.
