Overview
- On Saturday a CNN crew and other journalists reporting near the village of Sinjil north of Ramallah were blocked and attacked by settlers, and Israeli police later arrested four suspects tied to the incident.
- Journalists said attackers used wooden and metal rods and stones, one brandished a knife and tried to puncture CNN’s vehicle tires, and another group smashed the windshield of a following vehicle.
- The IDF’s Samaria (Shomron) Brigade reached the scene, secured the journalists’ passage, and security forces located and seized the suspects’ vehicle and recovered clubs and a knife during a search.
- The episode took place during a memorial for Saif Musallet, a Palestinian-American killed by settlers in July 2025 for which no arrests have been reported, and it follows a separate recent claim by U.S. Rep. Ro Khanna that he was detained by settlers.
- The arrests come as Israeli leaders and the U.N. note a sharp rise in settler violence since October 2023, raising questions about prosecution and accountability for attacks on Palestinians and foreign journalists.