A CNN crew led by Jerusalem correspondent Jeremy Diamond was reportedly attacked Monday by Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank while covering the death of Saif al-Din Kamil Abdul Karim Musalat, a 20-year-old Palestinian-American allegedly beaten to death by settlers on July 11 in Sinjil, near Ramallah.
The crew was traveling to interview Musalat’s family when a white car with at least four masked settlers began trailing them. After briefly approaching an Israeli Border Police vehicle for safety, the settlers, who had hidden out of sight, ambushed the CNN vehicle, smashing its rear window with a club or mallet. The crew escaped unharmed. Diamond shared the incident on X, noting it as a “sliver of the reality many Palestinians face” amid rising settler violence.
07/24/25 🇮🇱❌🇺🇸🇵🇸 CNN's Jerusalem correspondent Jeremy Diamond and his team were attacked by Jewish settlers in the occupied West Bank while reporting on the killing of 20-year-old Palestinian-American Saif Musallet, who was beaten by settlers. #IsraelTerroristState
— 💥Ray Murray jr (@rmjr2654) July 15, 2025
TabZLIVE pic.twitter.com/kAimfNWaVn
The attack occurred amid escalating violence in the West Bank, where settlers also allegedly torched cars in Burqa and assaulted a 65-year-old Palestinian man. The Foreign Press Association condemned the incident, highlighting a pattern of unpunished settler attacks on journalists, including a July 4 assault on a Deutsche Welle crew in Sinjil.
The group criticized Israeli authorities for failing to arrest perpetrators and for restricting journalists’ access to northern West Bank refugee camps.
Musalat’s killing, alongside that of 23-year-old Mohammad al-Shalabi, who was shot during the same attack, has drawn attention to settler violence. Witnesses claim settlers blocked ambulances from reaching Musalat for hours, potentially preventing life-saving aid. His family and rights groups.
U.S. Ambassador Mike Huckabee called the killing a “criminal and terrorist act” but deferred to Israeli investigations, which rarely result in convictions.
The incident reflects a broader surge in West Bank violence since October 2023, with over 1,000 Palestinians killed by settlers or Israeli forces, according to the UN.