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<\/a><\/p>\nAmerican photojournalist Heidi Levine receives medical treatment at a hospital in the West Bank city of Ramallah after being injured in an attack by extremist Jewish settlers during the annual olive harvest in the village of Abu Falah, near Ramallah, Oct. 16, 2026. (Flash90)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
\u201cI got jumped and I saw in the very beginning at least 25, maybe 50 of them, and I was on the ground and they were kicking me for like 10 minutes,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Video footage from the scene in the village of Abu Falah, near Ramallah, shows masked settlers surrounding and attacking Levine. Some settlers at the scene were masked and carrying weapons. Palestinians can also be seen throwing stones toward the settlers.<\/p>\n
A Palestinian was reportedly shot in additional clashes in the area. The Israel Defense Forces alleged in an official statement that soldiers \u201cfired toward a suspect who ran toward them, carrying a sharp object and posed a threat.\u201d Several vehicles were set on fire by the settlers.<\/p>\n
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was equivocal in addressing the attack, stopping short of directly condemning the assailants.<\/p>\n
He said that the circumstances in which Levine was allegedly assaulted \u201cremain unclear,\u201d while adding that \u201cIsrael unequivocally condemns violence against anyone.\u201d<\/p>\n
According to Netanyahu\u2019s statement, \u201c200 Arabs and far-left activists confronted approximately 40 Israeli youths.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe will not allow disputed incidents to be exploited to demonize the hundreds of thousands of law-abiding Jewish residents of Judea and Samaria,\u201d the statement said, using the biblical names for the West Bank.<\/p>\n
Netanyahu faces elections in less than two weeks and can ill afford to alienate his far-right coalition partners who are aligned with extreme settler factions.<\/p>\n
Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid, by contrast, issued a forceful condemnation of the attack and linked it to the policies of Netanyahu\u2019s government.<\/p>\n
\u201cJewish terror attacks, this time targeting a Washington Post photographer as well, are not a failure of the government \u2014 they are the government\u2019s policy,\u201d Lapid said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe will put an end to this. It is a disgrace to the State of Israel, a disgrace to the Jewish people, and a disaster on the international stage,\u201d he added. Settler violence against Palestinians in the West Bank has surged since the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas-led attack on Israel. Netanyahu\u2019s government has sought to downplay the phenomenon, often portraying the perpetrators as a small group of violent youths. But numerous figures in Israel\u2019s political and security establishments have warned that the violence is a broader and dangerous phenomenon. <\/p>\n
Levine told reporters the settlers forcibly took her equipment. \u201cAll I remember afterwards is that Palestinians managed to come and rescue me and try to carry me, and then an ambulance came and brought me to Abu Falah,\u201d she said, referring to a city in Israel north of the West Bank.<\/p>\n
The IDF acknowledged the incident in an official statement, saying that \u201ca female journalist was injured\u201d during a \u201cconfrontation.\u201d The military said troops dispersed those involved and that \u201cdetails of the incident will be examined.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cViolence against innocent civilians is a grave and intolerable phenomenon that requires a coordinated, multi-agency response. The IDF will work together with the relevant authorities to eradicate this phenomenon,\u201d the military said.<\/p>\n
The IDF did not announce any arrests in connection with the attack. Settler violence against Palestinians in the West Bank has frequently gone unpunished, with many such incidents resulting in no arrests.<\/p>\n
The Foreign Press Association, which represents international media in Israel and the Palestinian territories, condemned the attack, saying Levine was \u201cbadly beaten by Israeli settlers\u201d and had sustained moderate injuries.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is the latest in a long line of violent attacks by Israeli settlers against journalists and other civilians in the occupied West Bank. Yet our repeated calls for action to confront this lawlessness have been ignored by Israeli authorities,\u201d the association said.<\/p>\n
Matt Murray, executive editor of the Post, issued a statement calling for an investigation. \u201cWhile we are relieved that Heidi has received medical care and is safe, we are outraged by this unwarranted attack on a journalist doing her job and urge a thorough investigation and follow-through from authorities,\u201d Murray said. <\/p>\n