Israeli settlers beat AFP photojournalist Jaafar Ashtiyeh during West Bank olive harvest

Assault near Aqraba

On Tuesday, 6 October 2026, Israeli settlers attacked Agence France-Presse photojournalist Jaafar Ashtiyeh near the northern West Bank village of Aqraba. Ashtiyeh, a 58-year-old Palestinian reporter, was documenting the start of the annual olive harvest alongside AFP photo chief John Wessels. While the journalists observed an Israeli soldier detaining a Palestinian man, an all-terrain quad bike drove up to the hilltop. A passenger on the vehicle opened live fire toward the journalists and local residents, hitting one Palestinian man in the foot. At least six additional assailants then ran toward the reporters while discharging firearms. As Ashtiyeh attempted to enter an AFP vehicle to escape, two men seized him and struck him repeatedly with gun butts.

Inaction by nearby troops and hospital treatment

The attack took place approximately 500 metres from at least a dozen fully equipped Israeli soldiers who made no effort to intervene. Wessels reported that the initial shooter wore a long white shirt along with military fatigue trousers and army boots. Assailants beat Ashtiyeh across the head and torso and stole his camera equipment before fleeing the hilltop. Ashtiyeh was transported by ambulance to a hospital in Nablus, where his son Zain Jaafar confirmed he was conscious and undergoing medical imaging under 24-hour observation. The Palestine Red Crescent Society also evacuated the wounded Palestinian civilian to a hospital for treatment. Phil Chetwynd, global news director at AFP, demanded an investigation into the assault and the conduct of security forces.

We strongly condemn yet another serious attack on journalists trying to report on events in the West Bank and demand a full investigation. It is unacceptable that journalists can be beaten and robbed by armed settlers in front of Israeli security forces who made no attempt to intervene.

Escalating attacks on reporters

Media advocacy organizations stated that physical attacks by settlers against reporters in the West Bank have increased in frequency. Sara Qudah, the Middle East and North Africa regional director for the Committee to Protect Journalists, reported that settlers are accelerating assaults against journalists covering violence in the territory. The assault on Ashtiyeh follows an August incident in which settlers attacked three AFP journalists, as well as a July assault on a CNN crew near Ramallah. On the same day as the Aqraba attack, Israeli military forces detained two other Palestinian journalists, Mohamed Atiq and Mohamed Abed, near the city of Jenin. Approximately 500,000 Israeli settlers reside in the West Bank alongside roughly three million Palestinians.

Olive harvest losses and access barriers

The annual olive harvest in the West Bank has faced severe disruption following violence that intensified after October 2023. According to data from the Palestinian Ministry of Agriculture, the sector has recorded $157 million in cumulative production losses since 2023. Over the past three years, settlers and military forces have destroyed, uprooted, or burned 100,000 olive trees across the territory. Farmers face movement restrictions that prevent access to roughly 30% of olive-growing land, lowering overall harvest yields. Ministry records show that olive crop losses stood at $12 million in 2023 and reached $67 million from January to October 2026. The Food and Agriculture Organization documented that the sector supported 75,000 farmers and 100,000 seasonal jobs in 2020.