American Journalist Gets Detained After Filming Settler Attack

(MENAFN) An American reporter, Eric Maddox, was taken into custody by Israeli military personnel following an alleged attack by unauthorized Israeli settlers in the southern area of the West Bank, according to a statement from a human rights advocate.

“The Israeli army arrested an American journalist, activist, and podcaster, Eric Maddox, while he was filming settlers’ violations in Hebron,” said Issa Amro, the founder of the advocacy group Youth Against Settlements, during an interview with a news agency on Saturday evening.

The journalist from California had been documenting “a provocative march” staged by a large group of unlawful Israeli settlers in Hebron’s Old City when he was reportedly assaulted by the settlers. Shortly after the altercation, Maddox was taken into custody by the Israeli military.

Footage circulating on various social media platforms and distributed by a news network depicted Maddox being encircled by Israeli soldiers, who handcuffed and apprehended him.

“The (Israeli) occupation doesn’t want the documentation and disclosure of what’s happening in Hebron to the world,” Amro emphasized, underscoring concerns over transparency and the silencing of critical reporting in the region.

Violent incidents involving settlers and operations by Israeli troops have surged across the occupied West Bank since the eruption of the Gaza conflict in October 2023.

Official Palestinian sources report that since the conflict began, at least 968 Palestinians have lost their lives and over 7,000 have sustained injuries.

In July of the previous year, the International Court of Justice ruled that Israel’s prolonged control over Palestinian territories is unlawful and called for the dismantling of all Israeli settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.

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