Four masked men armed with sticks and rocks descended on the group as they documented a family’s account of forced displacement near Nablus
A Palestinian mother and an NBC News reporting team were set upon by extremist settlers in the occupied West Bank on Saturday, leaving several people injured and underscoring the escalating tensions tearing through the region.
The violence erupted when correspondent Matt Bradley and his crew were interviewing Aida Ahmed Abdullah in the village of Jalud, close to Nablus. The 51-year-old woman told journalists she and her family had been ousted from their home by settlers before the team began walking toward the property.
What followed was swift and brutal.
“They jumped out, beat us, then jumped back in the car,” Bradley recounted, describing how a vehicle bearing Israeli registration plates reversed up the hill toward the group. At least four men with covered faces spilled from the car, striking the journalists and Abdullah with wooden clubs while hurling stones.
Bradley sustained two blows to his arm and received treatment at a local clinic. Three colleagues were also wounded. Abdullah was rushed for medical attention by the Palestinian Red Crescent. Miraculously, none of the injuries proved life-threatening.
A Pattern of Violence
Camera operator Khaldoon Eid expressed disbelief at the attack, stating the crew had no reason to anticipate danger in a village setting. Producer Lawahez Jabari offered a chilling addition to the account: she spotted a firearm during the assault, though it was not discharged.
The incident forms part of a broader wave of unrest battering the area. On the same day, Palestinian workers in nearby Qusra were pepper-sprayed by masked settlers, according to local sources.
Israeli security forces acknowledged the clashes, confirming they received reports of “violent disturbances, including stone-throwing toward Palestinians and additional civilians.” A statement detailed how dozens of rioters had barricaded themselves inside a Palestinian residence while residents remained trapped inside. Forces moved to evacuate the settlers and seize vehicles suspected of transporting them to the scene.
“IDF soldiers and Israel Border Police continue to operate in the Qusra and Jalud areas to prevent further disturbances and restore order,” the statement read.
The attacks follow an earlier episode earlier this month when settlers began obstructing supplies from reaching Palestinian households on the outskirts of the same village near Nablus, effectively imprisoning residents within their own homes. The blockade drew sharp criticism from the United States ambassador.
Political Fallout
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu condemned the violence, describing it as “criminal acts” while attributing responsibility to “a handful of rioters who violate the law, cause enormous injustice to the law-abiding settler public, hinder the IDF in fulfilling its missions and harm Israel’s standing in the world.” His government has faced accusations of tolerating settler aggression through inaction.
The toll has been devastating. According to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, Israeli forces or settlers killed 76 Palestinians in the West Bank between last August and 24 July this year. Three Israelis died over the same period.
Israeli forces maintain a presence in the area while settlers continue patrolling the surrounding hillsides.
Why it Matters
This attack on journalists represents far more than a criminal assault on individuals. It strikes at the heart of press freedom and the ability of the international media to document events in one of the world’s most contested territories. When reporters become targets, the world loses its eyes and ears on the ground. The UN casualty figures lay bare the human cost of the West Bank’s descent into violence, while Netanyahu’s condemnation rings hollow against a backdrop of documented settler impunity. Without sustained international pressure and genuine accountability, the cycle of intimidation and bloodshed will only intensify, leaving Palestinian civilians caught between settler vigilantism and inadequate state protection.
