JALUD — Members of an NBC News reporting team and a local Palestinian woman were injured on Saturday after being assaulted by masked Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank.
The attack took place in the village of Jalud, south of Nablus, as NBC international correspondent Matt Bradley and his crew—including producer Lawahez Jabari and camera operator Khaldoon Eid—were interviewing 51-year-old Aida Ahmed Abdullah. Abdullah and her family were explaining how settlers had recently driven them out of their home.
As the group walked down a hill toward the property, a gray vehicle with Israeli license plates reversed rapidly toward them. Masked assailants armed with wooden sticks leapt from the car and began beating the journalists and family while hurling rocks.
“They jumped out, beat us, then jumped back in the car,” said Matt Bradley, who sustained injuries after being struck twice in the arm with a stick. Bradley and three other NBC team members received medical treatment at a local clinic, while Abdullah was taken to a hospital by the Palestinian Red Crescent for non-life-threatening injuries.
Producer Lawahez Jabari noted that while attackers carried sticks and brought a firearm, the weapon was not discharged during the assault.
Responding to the incident, Israeli security forces stated that military and Border Police personnel responded to separate groups, cleared rioters from the area, and seized vehicles used by the attackers. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu released a statement condemning the assault as a “criminal act of violence” committed by “a handful of rioters who violate the law”. The attack comes amid growing international concern over rising settler violence and harassment directed at Palestinian communities and press personnel across the occupied territory.