Amman, October 29, 2026 — The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the detention of Russian-Israeli journalist Andrey Khrzhanovskiy, known professionally as Andrey X, and U.S. journalist Jasper Nathaniel by Israeli forces near Umm Al-Khair, in the occupied West Bank. The arrests followed a violent assault by Israeli settlers against the two reporters and fellow freelance journalist Adele Shoko.
A series of
videos
and
photographs
show Israeli settlers
attacking
Khrzhanovskiy. Shoko reported that settlers beat Khrzhanovskiy, causing him to lose consciousness multiple times, before stealing his phone. The attackers also pepper-sprayed Nathaniel, and took Shoko’s eye glasses. Shoko posted that settlers blocked an ambulance from evacuating Khrzhanovskiy.
Attorney Alon Sapir confirmed that the two journalists were assaulted on Wednesday and that Khrzhanovskiy was struck on the head and required medical attention. Shoko
claims
that they were denied medical treatment for the sustained injuries.
The journalists were released the following day, with Nathaniel saying on
that they were ”charged with assault, along with five other offenses”.
Nathaniel added that a judge proceeded to ban them from the West Bank for two months and kept his phone, bringing no charges against the settlers who attacked them.
Khrzhanovskiy said he was
concussed
after the incident.
Video footage and eyewitness testimonies
confirm
that Khrzhanovskiy and Nathaniel were
detained
by Israeli police following their arrival to the scene.
“Israeli authorities can’t claim to protect public safety while detaining journalists who have been attacked in the course of their work and failing to hold those responsible for the violence accountable,” said CPJ Regional Director Sara Qudah. “Keeping journalists in custody without clearly disclosing the legal grounds for their detention, while they may still need medical care, compounds the harm and sends a dangerous message that those docu
