‘They had hate in their eyes’ Israeli photographer beaten by settlers while documenting attack of Palestinian town

Yedioth Ahronoth photographer Shaul Golan says he was attacked by a group of settlers after arriving at the Palestinian village of al-Mughayyir to document the rampage unfolding there.

“I was walking around the village taking pictures when I saw a group of masked Jews emerge from a nearby olive grove, walking around… as if they owned the town. I filmed as they torched homes,” he tells the Ynet news site.

Golan says he hid under a table in one of the burned homes as the assailants approach. “One of the children spotted me and called over the rest of them. They beat me mercilessly, breaking my finger and taking my bag to burn all of the photography equipment inside.”

“Then they searched my pockets for a memory card to make sure I didn’t have any recording of what they were doing,” he says.

“I started telling them, ‘I’m not an Arab, I’m a Jew.’ They ran toward me, screaming in terror and grabbed me, shouting, ‘You’re a Jew, how are you not ashamed of yourself?'”

“Some were in IDF uniforms and holding guns. There were 20 or 30 of them who beat me as I shouted for help, hoping that soldiers would hear me. But they were the soldiers… I laid on the floor, as every one of them kicked me in the head and stomach,” Golan says.

“They left me stripped and threw my motorcycle keys into the fire, so I’d have no way to get home. They had hate in their eyes,” he says