Group of settler youth attack journalists, activists in front of IDF soldiers, no arrests made

A group of Israeli settlers were recently filmed attacking activists and journalists in the presence of IDF soldiers near the city of Bethlehem. 

The Israeli settlers attacked a team of AFP journalists and Israeli activists from Standing Together near the Palestinian town of Jannatah on Tuesday, before being allowed to flee by soldiers before the arrival of Israeli police. 

The team of three AFP journalists arrived to cover the work of the Israeli activists working to protect Palestinians harassed by groups of young settlers, when an altercation broke out, and several of the settlers began hitting the journalists and activists and spraying them with what was reported to be pepper spray. 

The Israeli activists, comprised of both Jewish and Arab, had come to help put up a fence around Palestinian properties which have received repeated settler attacks. 

IDF soldiers who arrived at the scene did not disperse the settlers, instead telling the journalists and activists that the area was a closed military zone. 

According to the AFP report, the journalists were ordered to leave the area, while the settlers, many of whom came from the nearby settlement of Kochav Yehuda, continued to arrive. 

Footage posted on social media shows IDF soldiers taking little action against the settler youth, many of whom are seen attacking the journalists and activists in front of the soldiers. 

Jannata: Jewish terrorists are attacking our activists. Terrorists sprayed them with pepper spray, beat a 70-year-old activist, smashed the windows of four vehicles, and slashed their tires. Soldiers stood by and watched. The police arrived only hours after the attack had ended. pic.twitter.com/zeQjjpEiWL

— Rabbis for Human Rights (@rabbis4HR) August 25, 2026

The Palestinian Red Crescent Society said it treated five people for injuries in the altercation. 

Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported that Kochav Yehuda, which has been dismantled many times by Israeli authorities, was most recently cleared only two days before the incident on Tuesday. 

Palestinians and Israeli activists say the cycle of demolition and reconstruction, without any arrests, is symbolic of the permissive attitude the Israeli authorities take towards illegal settlements. 

The Israeli activists said they called police, who did not arrive until after the settlers left. 

On its social media account, Standing Together claimed that “four vehicles had their windows smashed and tires slashed.” 

Yesterday, we joined Rabbis for Human Rights and Bnei Avraham to erect protective fencing around Palestinian homes in Jannatah, southeast of Bethlehem. The fence was intended to help protect Palestinian families who have endured repeated attacks and intimidation by violent… pic.twitter.com/bANL0tlc7E

— עומדים ביחד نقف معًا Standing Together🟣 (@omdimbeyachad) August 26, 2026

The AFP journalists also claimed that their agency vehicles were “heavily damaged” from the attacks. 

One of the AFP journalists said his camera was temporarily seized by an IDF soldier, before being returned. 

The group said the barbed wire fence, which it was helping install that day, is “intended to help protect Palestinian families who have endured repeated attacks and intimidation by violent Israeli settlers operating from the nearby illegal Kochav Yehuda outpost, which has been dismantled and rebuilt multiple times.” 

Critics of the settler violence have noted that few arrests are ever made, despite the fact that soldiers do have authority to apprehend Israeli suspects committing acts of violence. 

According to Channel 12 News, Central Command chief Maj. Gen. Avi Bluth told Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday that settler violence could lead to an escalation of violence in Judea and Samaria. 

“There has been a significant decline in the scope of terrorism over the past two years, but there is a match that could ignite everything in an instant – and that is nationalist crime,” Bluth was reported as saying. 

A senior IDF officer told the outlet that commanders in the field “feel alone,” due to support for the violent settler groups by some in leadership positions.