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July 15, 2025 – Palestine –
A CNN news team was assaulted by Israeli settlers in Sinjil, near Ramallah, while covering the death of 20-year-old Palestinian‑American, Saif Musallet. Jeremy Diamond, a Jerusalem‑based correspondent who previously reported from the White House, was among those targeted. Diamond shared that the rear window of their vehicle was smashed as they fled unharmed, warning, “This is just a sliver of the reality many Palestinians face in the West Bank amid rising settler violence.”
The attack unfolded over the weekend of July 12–13, after Musallet was beaten to death by settlers, according to family accounts. The perpetrators allegedly obstructed medical personnel for hours, and a second Palestinian, Razek Hussein al‑Shalabi, was also shot and killed during the incident. Family members and human rights organisations have called for a State Department investigation and accountability, criticising the Israeli military and settlers for unchecked aggression with minimal arrests.
Major press freedom groups swiftly condemned the assault on the CNN team. The Foreign Press Association emphasised this as the second attack on foreign journalists in Sinjil within July; earlier, a Deutsche Welle team had their vehicle vandalised. The International Federation of Journalists highlighted a broader surge in settler and military violence targeting both Palestinian and international reporters.
The Council on American–Islamic Relations (CAIR) also denounced the incident, stating it exemplifies a pattern of escalating hostility toward journalists in occupied territories. They urged U.S. officials and international bodies to demand accountability and ensure the safety of media professionals.
These escalating attacks reflect a broader clampdown on press freedom in the West Bank and Gaza, where journalists routinely face physical threats, obstruction, and detentions. Human rights authorities note that such violence is consistently linked to settler activity, often abetted or ignored by security forces.
References –
https://nypost.com/2025/07/16/media/cnn-crew-attacked-in-west-bank-by-israeli-settlers/
https://deadline.com/2025/07/cnn-correspondent-crew-attacked-israeli-settlers-west-bank-1236457587/
