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CNN crew attacked
Israeli settlers attacked a CNN news crew and other journalists while they covered the first anniversary of the killing of Palestinian-American Saif Musallet near the village of Sinjil, north of Ramallah in the occupied West Bank on Saturday.
The attack unfolded “within seconds,” when settlers descended on the journalists as they commemorated Musallet’s death, and CNN’s Jeremy Diamond reported, “Within seconds, we spot a car speeding towards us.”
As reporters tried to leave, four settlers blocked the dirt path and approached the car armed with clubs and a knife, and the CNN crew called the military but settlers had gotten to them first.
Israeli police later arrested four settlers, and the incident drew attention because Musallet’s father had made the dangerous journey to the site where his son was beaten to death.
In a separate account of the same incident, Israeli police said the journalists were reporting near Sinjil and that settlers arrived within minutes, with one individual trying to slash the tires of CNN’s vehicle and others damaging another vehicle by smashing its windshield.
Arrests, accusations, and quotes
Israeli police said they view violence and property damage against media personnel “very seriously,” emphasizing that journalists must be able to carry out their work without intimidation.
CNN’s Jeremy Diamond described the moment as settlers approached, reporting, “This solemn sacred moment won’t last,” as the crew tried to drive away.
Ro Khanna said that when Israeli forces arrived, they sided with the settlers, and he told Democracy Now!, “the IDF is on their side, not on the side of the Americans.”
Rashid Khalidi, Edward Said professor emeritus of modern Arab studies at Columbia University, said the attacks on Americans were part of a broader pattern, telling Democracy Now!, “this is one of many Israeli attacks on Americans.”
In the same coverage, Netanyahu acknowledged settler violence but described the perpetrators as a relatively small group of “juvenile delinquents,” while saying Israeli police and the military take enforcement action and that Israeli courts have imposed relatively lenient penalties.
Wider Gaza-war backdrop
The CNN attack near Sinjil came as Al Jazeera framed the broader issue of settler violence in the occupied West Bank, saying that for Palestinian journalists, such attacks are “commonplace.”
Al Jazeera also pointed to a spotlight on settler violence after “Recent attacks on international journalists and a US congressman,” linking the incidents to renewed attention on violence in the occupied West Bank.
In the same reporting stream, Democracy Now! connected the pattern of attacks to the Gaza war, with Khanna describing detention during a trip to a Palestinian village that “had been destroyed by settlers,” and with Khalidi arguing that the contempt shown toward the United States and “the unwillingness of American administrations” has persisted.
Other reporting in the provided material also placed West Bank violence in the context of the Israeli war on the Gaza Strip beginning on October 7, 2023, noting that tensions escalated and that attacks by settlers and the Israeli army continued in cities, villages, and refugee camps.
The stakes in the sources center on the safety of journalists and the treatment of American visitors, with Israeli police emphasizing media personnel must work “without intimidation” and with Khanna saying he was detained for about 90 minutes while settlers and Israeli forces blocked his delegation.
