Israel arrests four settlers after attack on CNN crew; US congressman reports being 'detained' by armed settlers in separate incident
Israeli police detained four suspects after a group of settlers attacked a CNN team with sticks, metal bars and a knife near Ramallah in the occupied West Bank. The incident comes days after US congressman Ro Khanna said armed settlers held him and his travelling companions.
Attack on CNN team
A CNN crew and other journalists were reporting near the village of Sindschil north of Ramallah on 11 July 2026 when four settlers blocked the road with their car and tried to stop the vehicles from leaving. The men swung wooden and metal rods and stones, waved a knife and attempted to stab the tyres of the CNN vehicle. The group later climbed onto another car carrying journalists driving behind the CNN vehicle and shattered its windscreen.
As the CNN team and other journalists were about to drive away, four settlers blocked the road with their car and tried to prevent the vehicles from proceeding. The four settlers swung wooden and metal rods and stones. One settler brandished a knife and tried to stab the tyres of the CNN vehicle.
Police response and arrests
The Israeli police said they were informed that suspects had blocked a vehicle with several foreign journalists near Sindschil. Members of the Israeli army were dispatched, secured the journalists' onward travel and provisionally arrested four suspects allegedly involved in the incident. A search of their car turned up clubs and a knife, and the men were later formally arrested.
Surge in settler violence
The UN has reported a sharp rise in violence by Israeli settlers since the war in Gaza began after the Hamas attack on Israel in October 2023. Several Israeli ministers have repeatedly called for the annexation of parts of the West Bank. In Deir Ibzia, a Palestinian village west of Ramallah, residents described near-daily assaults by settlers who established an outpost roughly one year ago. About ten families have been driven from their homes because the houses were seen as too close to the outpost.
These are not isolated cases. Many people are affected.
Mayor Muhannad Othman said more than 30,000 olive trees could not be tended for the second consecutive year. Settlement experts estimate that roughly 17 square kilometres of land have been lost to the residents of Deir Ibzia and neighbouring villages through the aggression.
- US congressman Ro Khanna said armed settlers detained him and his group near Khirbet Sanuta in the southern West Bank.
- Four settlers attacked a CNN crew and other journalists with sticks, metal bars, a knife and stones near Sindschil north of Ramallah.
- Israeli army secured the journalists' passage and police provisionally arrested four suspects.
- Police found clubs and a knife in the suspects' car and formally arrested them.
Congressman's encounter with armed settlers
Days before the CNN incident, Democratic US congressman Ro Khanna from California said he was "arrested" by armed Israeli settlers during a visit to the West Bank early in the week. When Israeli soldiers arrived at the scene, Khanna said they sided with the settlers and continued to detain him and his fellow US travellers. The Israeli army rejected Khanna's account. According to the New York Times, the incident took place on Wednesday near the locality of Khirbet Sanuta in the southern West Bank. Khanna and his companions were able to resume their journey only after calls to the US embassy and Israeli authorities.
When Israeli soldiers arrived at the scene, they sided with the settlers and proceeded with our detention.
