Washington Post Photographer Beaten in Settler Attack on West Bank Olive Harvest

Updated 13:32 UTC, October 18: U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee condemned the attack late on Saturday in a post on X, calling it a despicable act of terror carried out by masked cowards and a dishonorable act of senseless violence, CNN and the Associated Press reported. He said Levine is a U.S. citizen who was clearly identified as a journalist, said those who attacked an unarmed reporter should spend years in prison, and said Washington had called for a full investigation, arrest and prosecution to the fullest extent of the law. Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters on Saturday that the administration was very disturbed by the images, that Washington had asked Israel and would keep asking it to crack down on settler attacks, and that the State Department had reached out to The Washington Post to offer consular assistance and had asked the embassy in Jerusalem for a report by Sunday, CNN and Reuters reported. Rubio said lifting sanctions on settlers did not mean President Donald Trump supported the violence. Israeli President Isaac Herzog said he called Levine on Saturday after the Sabbath ended, strongly condemned the violence, and apologized for what she went through. Levine remains in hospital in Tel Aviv recovering from hand surgery, broken ribs and other injuries, the Associated Press reported. Yesh Din says around 94 percent of investigations into settler violence since 2005 have ended without an indictment, with just 3 percent leading to full or partial convictions, the Associated Press reported.

Updated 13:12 UTC, October 17: Members of the United States Congress condemned the attack on Saturday, The Washington Post and The Jerusalem Post reported. Representative Jamie Raskin of Maryland called the reported assault on Levine "unconscionable and a moment of reckoning for the world," and asked whether the world would tolerate vigilante violence against Palestinian civilians and foreign observers by right-wing vigilantes who operate with government protection. Senator Andy Kim of New Jersey said reports that the attack was coordinated, and that Israeli soldiers did not intervene, were concerning, and said he would keep calling for an investigation and accountability. Representative Ro Khanna of California called for the United States to cut off aid that is used to fund settler activity and to stop the sales of those weapons. Senator Tammy Duckworth of Illinois said Israeli authorities must hold those responsible for the attack accountable and stop enabling broader efforts to annex the West Bank.

Updated 03:23 UTC, October 17: A BBC team that witnessed one of several attacks near Abu Falah on Friday said a local official put the number of Palestinians injured in the assaults at 12, including four dual Palestinian American citizens, the BBC reported. That count covers the wider set of attacks that day and is higher than the six injured in Abu Falah reported by the Palestinian Red Crescent Society. A council member from Turmus Ayya told the BBC that American citizen Majdi Fheed needed treatment for deep wounds to his head and neck after an attack with nail studded sticks, and that his elderly mother was also injured.

Updated 02:53 UTC, October 17: The Washington Post reported that Levine suffered cuts across her body, a broken rib, and a finger torn open that needs surgery, Reuters reported. Journalist Jasper Nathaniel, who saw the attack and helped Levine, told CNN she also had a broken vertebra and a severe finger injury, that settlers beat her with clubs, pulled her up by her vest and kicked her back down, and that young Palestinian men helped him reach her. Gadi Eisenkot, the main election rival of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, called the attack unacceptable and said such acts stain the whole nation, CNN reported.

Updated 01:02 UTC, October 17: The Palestinian Red Crescent Society said six people were injured in Abu Falah, and that a 63 year old woman and a 40 year old man were taken to hospital after being beaten, the Associated Press reported. That is higher than the early count of at least two injured in the grove. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said on Friday evening that the facts around the confrontation remained unclear and under investigation, condemned violence against anyone, and said those responsible would be held accountable, CNN reported. Washington Post executive editor Matt Murray replied that some facts were not in dispute, saying Levine was clearly marked as press and was clearly beaten, and he again urged a thorough investigation and accountability.

Updated 19:42 UTC: The U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem said it was aware of the attack and was monitoring the situation. It condemned criminal violence by any party in the West Bank and called for investigations, arrests and convictions of those responsible, NPR reported. The Committee to Protect Journalists said Levine told it from her hospital bed that she had identified herself to the attackers as an American journalist, that she expected to need stitches in her hand and on her back, and that her bag, camera and phone were taken during the attack. The committee said the beating followed a series of attacks on journalists covering the harvest, including the October 6 beating of AFP photographer Jaafar Ashtiyeh.

Updated 15:28 UTC: Israel Police said they have opened an investigation after receiving reports of the attack, and said they treat violence seriously, in particular when it involves journalists at work, CNN reported. The Israel Defense Forces said they would examine all circumstances around the incident and called attacks on innocent civilians grave and unacceptable. The Foreign Press Association condemned the attack, said Levine was in stable condition at Ramallah Government Hospital with bandages on her hand and leg, and called on the Israeli military Central Command to protect civilians from violent mobs.

About 80 masked settlers attacked Palestinians harvesting olives near the village of Abu Falah in the occupied West Bank on Friday, burning trees and injuring at least two people, Reuters reported. One of the injured was Heidi Levine, a photojournalist on assignment for The Washington Post.

Reuters witnesses said the settlers, dressed in black and some carrying gas canisters, came down a hill above a terraced grove where villagers had gathered for the annual harvest, northeast of Ramallah. Some used slings to throw rocks at the villagers. Villagers moved down the hill and some threw stones back. Farmer Moutaz Abdelhadi, 42, told Reuters the settlers want to drive local families from their homes.

The attack on Levine

Video from the scene showed Levine on her side on a dirt path, covering her face with her hands, while at least three settlers stood over her. CNN reported that Levine said the group she was with pulled back when settlers ran toward them, and that attackers kicked her while she was on the ground. She said her camera bag, her phone and her cameras were broken off her, and that the attack lasted about 10 minutes.

Levine was wearing a vest marked PRESS and protective gear. She later said her helmet and flak jacket likely saved her from worse injury. Palestinian colleagues helped her away, medics took her first to a clinic in Abu Falah and then to a hospital in Ramallah, and reports from the hospital said she was in stable condition with bandages on her left hand. Palestinian medics said a second injured person was also taken to a hospital in the Ramallah area.

The newspaper responds, and the army arrives

Washington Post executive editor Matt Murray said Levine was wearing visible markings that identified her as a journalist. The paper said it was relieved she had received medical care and was safe, called the attack unwarranted, and urged a thorough investigation by the authorities.

Reuters reported that at least two Israeli military jeeps drove through the area partway through the attack. The attack went on after the soldiers arrived. Soldiers fired tear gas toward the Palestinians, the sound of live gunfire was heard, and a Reuters photographer saw at least one armed settler fire a gun. The Israeli military did not immediately respond to a request for comment, Reuters said.

A second attack the same morning

The Abu Falah attack came after a similar attack on Friday morning near Turmus Ayya, another harvest village. Reuters said settlers there attacked a group of farmers harvesting olives and burned three cars. A witness said the attackers caught one farmer on his own and beat him.

Violence rises with the harvest

The Israeli monitoring group Yesh Din has counted at least 170 settler attacks since September 27, around the start of this year's olive harvest, Reuters reported. The harvest is a central season for Palestinian farming families, and it brings villagers into groves close to settlements and outposts. About 500,000 settlers live in the West Bank alongside at least 3 million Palestinians. UN bodies and most countries say the settlements are illegal under international law on military occupation. Israel disputes that view and calls the territory disputed.