CNN crew attack in West Bank brings four arrests

Israeli police arrested four suspects on Saturday after a vehicle carrying foreign journalists was allegedly damaged near Sinjil in the occupied West Bank, in an incident CNN described as an attack on its crew by Israeli settlers.

CNN said its team was reporting near the village, north of Ramallah, when four settlers blocked the road with their car and tried to stop journalists' vehicles from moving. The network said the settlers carried wooden and metal rods and stones, and that one brandished a knife and tried to puncture the tyres of CNN's vehicle.

CNN said the group later climbed onto another vehicle carrying journalists behind its team and smashed its windshield.

Israeli police said military forces were sent to the scene, secured the journalists' passage and detained four suspects believed to have been involved. Police said officers later arrested the suspects, took witness statements, seized their vehicle and recovered clubs and a knife during a search.

The incident came after US lawmaker Ro Khanna said armed Israeli settlers detained him and other Americans during a West Bank visit earlier in the week. The Israeli military denied Khanna's claim that it was involved in blocking his path.

The United Nations has reported an increase in violence attributed to Israeli settlers in the West Bank since the start of the Gaza war in October 2023.