AFP Photographer Jaafar Ashtiyeh Hospitalized After Settler Attack in West Bank

Key facts

• Jaafar Ashtiyeh, 58, a veteran AFP photographer, was beaten by armed Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank on Tuesday.
• The attack occurred near the northern Palestinian village of Aqraba while Ashtiyeh and fellow AFP photographer John Wessels covered the olive harvest.
• A man on a quad bike opened fire, wounding a Palestinian man in the foot, before at least six others advanced toward the photographers while firing weapons.
• Ashtiyeh was struck repeatedly with rifle butts and his camera equipment was taken; he was hospitalized in Nablus with bruising to his head and torso, and X-rays found no broken bones.
• About a dozen armed Israeli soldiers were roughly 500 meters away during the assault but did not intervene, according to Wessels.
• Phil Chetwynd, AFP’s global news director, condemned the attack and called for a full investigation, telling The Guardian the incident was unacceptable.
• The Foreign Press Association said it is “deeply alarmed” and urged Israeli authorities to investigate why soldiers did not protect the clearly identified journalists.
• Ashtiyeh was also injured while covering the olive harvest last year when Israeli settlers attacked olive pickers and journalists with sticks and stones.