Settlers Pepper-Spray and Beat Israeli Activists, AFP Journalist Near Bethlehem as Soldiers Watch

On Tuesday, August 25, 2026, masked Israeli settlers attacked a group of left-wing Israeli activists from Rabbis for Human Rights and other rights organizations, along with French AFP journalists, at an outpost near the Palestinian village of Jannatah south of Bethlehem in the southern West Bank. The activists had traveled to help residents build a fence around homes that had come under repeated settler attack. Rabbis for Human Rights said the assailants pepper-sprayed activists, beat a 70-year-old participant, and smashed windows and slashed tires on four vehicles; the Palestine Red Crescent Society said five people were treated for injuries, and one AFP journalist suffered a bleeding chin after being struck with a stick. IDF soldiers were present throughout but made no arrests, with the military saying troops attempted to separate the groups 'with little success'; police arrived only hours after the assault had ended. The attack came amid a broader wave of West Bank settler violence documented by rights groups in recent weeks.