Activists report beating and arrest of journalist in West Bank village

Russian activist Adele Shoko posted on the platform X that Israeli settlers attacked her, US journalist Jasper Nathaniel, and Israeli-Russian activist Andrey X in the village of Umm al-Khair. The incident occurred in the Masafer Yatta area of the occupied West Bank. Shoko stated that armed men beat the group and threatened them. She said the attackers also took equipment and personal belongings.

Shoko detailed the physical trauma sustained by her companions. She wrote that Nathaniel was pepper-sprayed and arrested by Israeli forces. Andrey X suffered a concussion and lost consciousness multiple times during the assault. Shoko noted that the events unfolded in front of police officers. Despite his condition, she wrote that X was denied hospital treatment. He was placed in an ambulance but transported to a police station instead of a medical facility. He remained in custody without receiving care.

Video footage uploaded by Shoko shows several armed men striking Nathaniel and X. A separate clip captures Israeli authorities leading Nathaniel away. In the video, he shouts that he has just been beaten.

This incident follows a similar attack on October 16 in Abu Falah, northeast of Ramallah. Masked Israeli settlers assaulted Palestinian farmers harvesting olives. They set trees on fire and threw stones using slingshots. Washington Post photojournalist Heidi Levine was covering the event. She reported being beaten, robbed, and taken to a hospital. A Palestinian man was shot in the leg after Israeli soldiers fired live ammunition and tear gas at the scene.

Levine stated that she was wearing a protective vest marked PRESS. She said settlers kicked and beat her while she was on the ground. They stole her passport, phone, and camera equipment. Matt Murray, Executive Editor of the Washington Post, called the event an unwarranted attack on a journalist doing her job. Several US lawmakers requested an investigation into the matter. They also called for an end to settler violence in the region.

Shoko’s account provides a timeline for the recent events in Umm al-Khair. The posts detail the sequence of the beating, the arrest of Nathaniel, and the medical neglect of X. The footage serves as visual evidence for the claims made in her social media updates.