"I saw the shooters fall": The photographer from the attack scene speaks for the first time | Exclusive to Walla

Hazem Badr, an AFP photographer, speaks for the first time in an exclusive interview with Walla about the deadly attack at the Yehuda Junction. He denies prior knowledge of the attack and describes how he arrived at the scene while on his way to cover an olive harvest. Two soldiers were killed in the attack.

Hazem Badr, a 60-year-old AFP photographer stationed in Hebron, speaks for the first time in an exclusive interview with Walla following allegations that he had prior knowledge of the deadly attack at the Yehuda Junction. According to him, the morning was planned differently: he was on his way to cover a Palestinian olive harvest near Gush Etzion, invited by left-wing activists. Badr describes drinking coffee as usual, and after a 10–15 minute drive, he saw people running and warning of gunfire. He put on a protective vest and helmet, hid behind his car which was parked behind two trucks, and pulled out his camera. "After two or maybe three minutes, I saw the shooters fall to the ground," he said. The AFP agency strongly denied that he had any prior information and stated that he was not investigated. The police said, "No such suspicion arises." The IDF stated that the incident is under investigation. In the attack, Staff Sergeant Ron Yonatan Reutman and Sergeant Yuval Shai Soylem were killed, and three soldiers were lightly wounded. The article presents the photographer's account but does not cite an official Israeli source confirming it.