Israeli Settler Violence in West Bank

There has been a new rash in recent weeks of Israeli settler violence

against Palestinian families living on the West Bank of the Jordan River.

Yesterday, our NBC News team, including international correspondent Matt

Bradley, was caught in the middle of it.

Matt is back safely in Tel Aviv this morning.

Matt, I am glad you're safe after what we should

warn our viewers was an

incredibly disturbing incident.

Yeah, thanks, Willie. Uh, I'm safe. I'm recovering.

I got hit twice, uh, on the arm. Uh, actually, every

member of my team, including the producer, uh, the cameraman,

and one of the drivers we were with, they all took hits, but we're all

recovering well.

We were interviewing a Palestinian woman yesterday named Aida Ahmed Abdullah,

her home in the West Bank now occupied by Israeli settlers.

She says she dies 100 times a day watching this scene.

As Aida took us closer to her home, masked young men in a

gray car with Israeli license plates, armed with sticks and stones,

rushed on the scene. Whoa, whoa, oh, oh.

They smashed our car windshield, hit our crew with clubs, and beat

Aida unconscious. Are you okay?

Are you...

We were able to get her to an ambulance, and our team was treated for minor

injuries.

The attack comes amid a surge of settler violence across the West Bank in recent

weeks.

So far this year, 76 Palestinians have been killed by

settlers, according to

the United Nations, among them 18 children.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who's been accused of turning a blind

eye to the violence, released a statement yesterday accusing

the settlers of

breaking the law and damaging Israel's standing in the world.

And US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee, long an outspoken defender

of Israel, has harshly criticized what he calls

Israeli

terrorists, demanding the government crack down on

them, saying earlier

this month...

We're appalled at some of the things that have happened to

families who, uh, are the victims of, uh, just criminal

activity that is inexcusable and repugnant.

Israel's military and border police said they opened an

investigation into

yesterday's attack and confiscated vehicles belonging to

rioters. Whoa, whoa. But there were no reports of arrests.

And Willie, I can tell you that Aida is recovering.

She has left the hospital, but she's not recovering at home.

Her home is still occupied by those violent settlers.

Willie.

We are relieved to hear Aida is out of the hospital, that you

and the team are

safe after a truly appalling attack there.

Matt Bradley in Tel Aviv, thank you for bringing us that story.

We appreciate it.