Journalists' Syndicate: Settlers' Attacks on Journalists Represent a Dangerous Structural Shift During 2025

SadaNews - Documented incidents reported by the Freedoms Committee of the Palestinian Journalists Syndicate during 2025 indicate an unprecedented escalation in attacks by Israeli settlers against Palestinian and foreign journalists, not only in numerical terms but also in the qualitative shift in the nature of the assaults and their objectives, reflecting a dangerous transition from incidental practices to a systematic policy targeting journalism as a direct objective.

From Incidental Assaults to Systematic Targeting

Comparing with previous years (27 assaults in 2023 and 36 assaults in 2024), the attacks had often focused on preventing coverage or verbal harassment. However, 2025 saw a structural transformation with 66 assaults represented in:

Field pursuit of journalists
Physical assault and severe beating
Firing live ammunition and tear gas
Destruction of journalistic equipment and burning of vehicles

This transformation confirms that journalists are no longer incidental obstacles to events but have become intentional targets in their own right.

A Recurring Pattern in Multiple Geographies

The Freedoms Committee noted the recurrence of the same scenario in several areas, including:

Masafar Yatta
Al-Mughayer
Beita
Singel
Hebron
Turmus Ayya

The syndicate stated that the repetition of methods and practices in different locations confirms that what is happening is not an isolated individual behavior but rather an organized pattern reflecting a comprehensive structure of assaults.

Structural Complicity Between Settlers and the Occupation Army

An analysis of events reveals that the majority of assaults occurred within three main cases:

Protection of settlers by the occupation army during the assaults
Direct participation of the army in prevention or arrest
Integrated roles: settlers attack, and the army completes the actions with detention or gunfire
This reality indicates the collapse of the principle of separation between civilian and military, transforming settlers into field implementation tools for the policy of silencing the media.
Legally, this amounts to the full responsibility of the state according to international humanitarian law, not merely individual conduct.

Targeting Journalism in the Context of the Narrative Battle

These assaults cannot be separated from the conflict over the media narrative, as it was noted:

Targeting sensitive coverage, especially:
Olive picking season
Incursions into villages
Assaults and settlement expansion
Preventing journalists before or during coverage, confirming that the aim is to prevent the production of content from the outset rather than to respond later.

The committee also documented cases of prior digital incitement against journalists, followed by field targeting, indicating a clear transition of violence from the digital space to the field.

Olive Season: The Peak of Targeting

More than a third of the assaults were recorded during the olive season, which is characterized by:

High national symbolism
Media intensity
Direct association with land rights and ownership
This confirms that targeting journalists during this season aims to obscure documentation and leave farmers without witnesses.

The 2025 Difference from Previous Years

2025 is distinguished by the use of unprecedented tools of violence, including:

Live ammunition
Destruction of property
Severe injuries
Subsequent assassination cases after incitement
Indicating that journalism in some areas has entered a phase of existential danger.

Targeting Foreign Journalists: A Clear Political Message

The Freedoms Committee recorded assaults against international media crews, including:

CNN
DW

American and Chinese Journalists

These assaults cannot be considered field mistakes but rather political deterrent messages aimed at testing international reaction and reducing global coverage, in light of the absence of deterring responses that encouraged further escalation.

The Syndicate Warns of Expected Strategic Consequences

If this approach continues without accountability, the Freedoms Committee of the syndicate warns of serious consequences, notably:

Gradual withdrawal of field coverage
Increase in crime leading to the killing of journalists
Escalation of self-censorship among journalists
Transformation of entire areas into media-dark zones
Erosion of trust in international protection for journalism
Institutionalization of a policy of impunity

Mohammad Al-Lahham, head of the Freedoms Committee of the syndicate, indicated that what was witnessed in 2025 does not merely represent a difficult year for Palestinian journalists but rather a strategic shift in dealing with media as an enemy that must be silenced by force.

Al-Lahham added that this reality places the syndicate, the International Federation of Journalists, and international human rights organizations in urgent responsibility to move from monitoring and documentation to legal and political action at the international level to hold the responsible parties accountable and ensure protection for journalism.