Key Points
- On October 16, 2024, a group of extremist Israeli settlers launched a violent attack in the West Bank, targeting at least six Palestinians and a veteran Washington Post photographer.
- The photographer, Jessica Pond, was pushed to the ground and kicked approximately 50 times by a mob of masked men, escaping more serious injury only due to her protective gear.
- Pond, who has covered the region for over 30 years, was rescued by Palestinian colleagues and local medical services after her equipment and phone were stolen or destroyed.
- The victim characterized the attackers as “monsters” and “Jewish terrorists,” expressing deep concern that the perpetrators will likely face no legal consequences.
Full Transcript (English)
Interviewer: I hope you recover quickly.
Guest (Jessica Pond): Thank you.
Interviewer: Jessica, can you tell us what happened to you today?
Guest (Jessica Pond): First of all, I just want to thank everyone here and my colleagues. I have known many of you for decades, and you have always taken incredible care of me. Today, everyone has been taking incredible care of me as well.
It is really… just yesterday, I spoke with my son, Michael. He has always told me that his biggest fear was that his mother would be killed by the settlers. We even had this conversation yesterday. I just got back two days ago from three weeks in Ukraine. I have been covering this conflict here for over three decades, and this is the second time that I have been brutally attacked. Fifteen years ago, I was also attacked in front of the army and the police outside of Havat Gilad.
Today, I was brutally attacked by… I mean, we saw the men in the distance on the hilltop. I would say at least 50 masked men. I had a 100-500mm lens, so I could see they were masked and had slingshots. When they came running down, I was attacked and pushed to the ground. Luckily, I had my flak jacket and my helmet; otherwise, I would not even be here because they just kept kicking me and kicking me, probably 50 times.
After about 10 minutes, they tried to get me to stand up, and then they pushed me down again and continued to kick me. I was trying to hold onto my cameras and my pouch, and I had my phone on a string around my neck. Eventually, they just ripped everything off of me and continued kicking me. The next thing I knew, I was being evacuated by my Palestinian colleagues and the medical service, who rushed me in an ambulance—first to the medical center in Abu Falah to check me, and then to this hospital.
That is what happened. You could see they were lighting the fields on fire before the attack. I have one message for the parents of those men: I do not know how a parent can raise such monsters. Really, honestly. I have witnessed their behavior, even attacking families, which we recently published a story about. As a parent myself, I cannot understand how a parent can raise such individual monsters. They are not even humans. Yes, they are Jewish terrorists, and they are giving everyone in this country a horrible reputation. Unfortunately, everyone is seeing them for who they are. And you know what? Sadly, I am sure none of them will be prosecuted.
