A CNN reporter found himself in a chokehold by Israeli military forces during an incident involving the detention of an entire press team in the West Bank.
The dramatic scene unfolded as photojournalist Cyril Theophilos was brought to the ground in a tense standoff with the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) on Friday.
The journalistic team was in the midst of speaking with Palestinians who claimed to have been assaulted by Israeli settlers near Tayasir when they were confronted by the IDF.
The soldiers, with weapons drawn, directed their firearms at the journalists, demanding that they cease their interviews, as captured in video footage.
“Stop! Sit down! Sit down,” one of the soldiers reportedly shouted, advancing towards the journalists and two young boys standing close by.
Jerusalem correspondent Jeremy Diamond described the encounter on camera, stating, “The soldiers immediately approached us, pointing their weapons directly and ordering everyone to sit down right away.”
As the team tried to record the situation, one soldier smacked Diamond’s phone out of his hand and demanded that the crew’s cameras were switched off.
Theophilos was then placed in a chokehold. Footage saw the journalist pointing the camera up at the soldiers, who were then towering over him after he was taken to the ground. His camera was allegedly damaged during the incident.
A CNN news crew were approached by armed Israeli soldiers while interviewing Palestinians in the West Bank town of Tayasir
Then Cyril Theophilos, a photojournalist for the outlet seen above, was held in a chokehold by one of the armed soldiers and then brought to the ground
As the crew tried to record the situation, one soldier smacked one of the crew’s phones out of his hand and demanded that their camera was switched off
The team and the Palestinians were reportedly detained for two hours before the news crew was escorted back to their vehicle.
The Israeli Military told CNN that the incident would be ‘thoroughly reviewed.’
‘The actions and behavior of the soldiers in the incident are incompatible with what is expected of IDF (Israel Defense Forces) soldiers operating in the Judea and Samaria area,’ a spokesperson said.
The news team had been in the area interviewing Palestinians who had been reportedly attacked by Israeli civilians or ‘settlers.’
The rise in settler attacks on Palestinian villages along the West Bank, which are not always violent, coincide with the government continuing to expand settlements.
Locals in Tayasir said that the settler attack on Thursday morning saw 75-year-old Abdullah Daraghmeh left with a fractured bones face and skull as well as knocked out teeth.
His family told CNN that settlers stormed in and beat Daraghmah, with his son Sami Daraghmeh saying that his father had been asleep.
‘This is not normal,’ he added.
‘The soldiers just immediately came up and started pointing their weapons directly at us telling everyone to sit down immediately,’ correspondent Jeremy Diamond told the camera
According to locals, the settlers had arrived in the early hours and began firing guns into the air and beating Palestinians before the new outpost was established by sunrise.
During the two hours that the CNN news crew were detained by the Israeli soldiers, the team reportedly heard the soldiers opinions on the controversial tactic.
An Israeli soldier, identified as Meir, acknowledged that the outpost he was protecting was illegal under Israeli law.
‘But this will be a legal settlement,’ he said. ‘Slowly, slowly.’
He was asked if he would help make the legality of the outposts a reality, Meir said: ‘Of course. I help my people.’
Meir reportedly said that the tactic involved the establishment of outposts on Palestinian villages while relying on little response from the Israeli soldiers and the eventual legalization from the Israeli government.
Currently, dozens of similar outposts have been legalized by the Israel government since Hamas’s attack on October 7 in 2023.
According to the CNN news team, the group of soldiers spoke of seeking revenge over the death of Yehuda Sherman, 18, who was said to have been killed by a Palestinian driving an ATV on Sunday March 22.
Palestinians in the area said that the young man had been stealing sheep from locals.
‘If you had a brother an they killed him, what would you have done?’ one soldier asked the news crew.
‘So, that’s revenge?’ the CNN team asked.
‘Revenge,’ Meir said. ‘Listen, at the end of the day, if the state doesn’t address what they did – those who murdered the youth… what do you expect us to do?’
The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs reported 25 Palestinian deaths by Israeli settlers and soldiers as of March 15.
