An AFP photographer was beaten and his camera equipment stolen while covering violence involving Palestinian olive farmers in the occupied West Bank, according to Agence France-Presse (AFP). Jaafar Ashtiyeh, 58, suffered injuries to his head and torso in an attack near the village of Aqraba on Tuesday and was taken to hospital in Nablus.
Ashtiyeh, a Palestinian photographer who has worked with AFP for years, was reporting alongside fellow AFP photographer John Wessels when the incident unfolded. The journalists had seen an Israeli soldier detaining a man as Palestinian farmers harvested olives, according to AFP’s account.
Wessels said a man approached the journalists on a quad bike and opened fire. One Palestinian fell to the ground and later received hospital treatment for a gunshot wound to his foot, the Palestine Red Crescent Society said. AFP reported that at least six other people then approached the journalists while firing weapons.
Ashtiyeh tried to reach a vehicle marked “Press”, but two men caught up with him and repeatedly struck him with rifle butts, according to Wessels. The photographer said he could hear Ashtiyeh screaming during the assault. Wessels also reported being threatened at gunpoint, while the attackers took Ashtiyeh’s photographic equipment.
About a dozen Israeli soldiers were positioned around 500 metres from the scene, Wessels told AFP. The Guardian reported that the attack took place within view of Israeli soldiers who did not intervene. AFP said it had contacted the Israeli military for comment.
Ashtiyeh remained conscious after the beating. His son, Zain Jaafar, told AFP that X-rays showed no broken bones, but doctors kept his father in hospital for observation because of his injuries.
AFP global news director Phil Chetwynd condemned the assault and called for an investigation into what happened, particularly the reported failure of security forces to intervene.
“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,” Chetwynd said.
The Foreign Press Association, which represents international media working in Israel and the Palestinian territories, also called for an investigation into the soldiers’ response. The incident has renewed concerns about the safety of journalists covering violence in the West Bank, where media workers face risks while documenting clashes, attacks and disputes involving Israeli settlers and Palestinians.
The assault took place during the annual olive harvest, a crucial period for Palestinian farmers who depend on the crop for income. During the harvest, farmers travel to olive groves across the West Bank, where disputes and attacks involving Israeli settlers have repeatedly disrupted agricultural work. Reports of assaults, damage to property and theft have increased in recent months. Violence has also affected Israelis, including a settler who was fatally shot by a Palestinian last month.
Around 500,000 Israeli settlers live among approximately three million Palestinians in the West Bank, which Israel occupied in 1967. Israeli settlements in occupied Palestinian territory are considered illegal under international law, a position supported by the International Court of Justice. The area remains a focus of conflict over land, movement, security and Palestinian rights.
The attack on Ashtiyeh also highlights wider concerns about the risks faced by Palestinian journalists reporting from the territory. Reporters Without Borders has documented arrests, physical attacks and restrictions on media workers covering events in the West Bank. The organisation reported that Israeli authorities had detained 19 journalists in the territory, including an AFP contributor, during the three years following the Hamas-led attack on Israel on October 7, 2023.
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For AFP and press freedom organisations, the circumstances surrounding Ashtiyeh’s beating raise questions not only about the assault itself, but also about the protection available to journalists working in areas where violence is taking place. The calls for an investigation focus on establishing what happened and why, despite reports that Israeli soldiers were nearby, the attack was not stopped.
