In the Israeli-occupied West Bank, a Palestinian woman and an NBC News team were attacked and injured by masked Israeli settlers on Saturday, in what is becoming a depressingly routine occurrence in the area. The incident happened as four news crew members were interviewing Aida Ahmed Abdullah and her family in the Palestinian town of Jalud, near Nablus. Abdullah had just told them she'd been driven out of her home by settlers, when a car with Israeli plates reversed up the hill toward them, and at least four masked men leaped out, wielding sticks and hurling rocks.

"They jumped out, beat us, then jumped back in the car," said NBC correspondent Matt Bradley, who was hit twice in the arm and treated at a nearby clinic. Abdullah, 51, was taken to medical care by the Red Crescent with non-life-threatening injuries. Three other crew members were also injured. Producer Lawahez Jabari noted, "The settlers had sticks, I saw a gun, but they didn't use the gun." Camera operator Khaldoon Eid admitted they hadn't expected to be attacked in a village, which is both understandable and a little naive.

Israeli security forces, in a statement, said they'd received reports of "violent clashes" including stone-hurling, and that they'd identified "dozens of rioters who had barricaded themselves inside a Palestinian home while Palestinian residents were inside." They claim to have removed the rioters, confiscated vehicles suspected of being used to reach the area, and continue to operate in Qusra and Jalud "to prevent further disturbances and restore order." Meanwhile, settlers still roam the surrounding hills, because of course they do.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, whose government has been accused of turning a blind eye to settler violence, condemned the "criminal acts of violence" by "a handful of rioters who violate the law," while also lamenting that they cause "enormous injustice to the law-abiding settler public" and "harm Israel's standing in the world." Because nothing says concern for victims like worrying about the country's image.

This isn't an isolated incident. According to the UN's office for the coordination of humanitarian affairs, Israeli forces or settlers killed 76 Palestinians in the West Bank in the year to 24 July, and three Israelis were killed in the same period. Also on Saturday, Palestinian workers were pepper-sprayed in nearby Qusra by masked settlers, and earlier this month, settlers began blocking supplies to Palestinian houses, trapping residents and drawing criticism from the US ambassador. So, yes, it's a busy time in the West Bank, and the world is watching with a mixture of horror and resignation.