France’s TF1: Israeli settlement in the West Bank is out of control

French broadcaster TF1 aired an extensive report on its main evening news saying Israel’s settlement of the West Bank, illegal under international law, has spiraled out of control with the Israeli government’s approval, and that settlers regularly target journalists.

TF1, one of France’s largest television channels, aired an extensive report of about 10 minutes this week on its flagship Le 20H newscast titled “Settlements in the West Bank: Israel’s Other Battle,” prepared by reporters Liseron Boudoul and Philippe de Poulpiquet.

Introducing the report, the anchor said that for three years and since the Oct. 7 attacks all eyes have been on the Gaza Strip, but another Palestinian territory, the West Bank, is another theater of the conflict. Israel’s settlement activity, illegal under international law, “is now out of control with the approval of the Israeli government,” he said.

700,000 settlers alongside 3 million Palestinians

According to TF1, there are 700,000 settlers in the West Bank alongside 3 million Palestinians, and radical Israelis are accused of hundreds of attacks. The channel said the situation is difficult to report on because these settlers regularly target journalists.

A settlement under construction in the West Bank (file photo)

Attacks on journalists

The report coincided with an account by veteran Washington Post photojournalist Heidi Levine to Le Figaro, in which she said she was attacked by settlers while covering the olive harvest near the villages of Turmus Ayya and Khirbet Abu Falah. “Suddenly, I saw more than 50 masked men,” she said.