Israeli settlers detained after attacking CNN journalists in West Bank

Israeli police arrested four Jewish settlers near the village of Sinjil, north of Ramallah, after they attacked a convoy of foreign journalists, including a CNN crew, on July 13, 2026. The journalists were covering the one‑year anniversary of the killing of Saif Musallet, a Palestinian‑American beaten to death by settlers in July 2025. Settlers blocked the road with a vehicle, brandished wooden and metal rods, stones, and a knife, and smashed a windshield before police and Israeli soldiers intervened.

Police seized clubs and a knife from the suspects’ car and said, “The Israel Police and the Israel Defense Forces view any manifestation of violence or causing damage to property very seriously, especially when it concerns media personnel performing their work.” The incident follows a recent detainment of U.S. Representative Ro Khanna by settlers in the West Bank and comes amid a UN‑reported rise in settler violence.

Israeli authorities described the perpetrators as “juvenile delinquents” and said the courts have been lenient on similar attacks, while the U.S. embassy called the assault a “criminal and terrorist act.”