Israeli Settlers Attack Washington Post Photographer Heidi Levine in the West Bank

American photojournalist Heidi Levine, working for the Washington Post, was physically assaulted by dozens of masked Israeli settlers in the village of Abu Falah, northeast of Ramallah, sustaining five broken bones.

Levine was covering an olive harvest by Palestinian farmers on Friday, October 16, when dozens of masked settlers descended from higher ground toward the olive groves, attacking farmers with stones and sticks and setting fire to trees and nearby vehicles.

Speaking from the hospital, Levine said she saw between 25 and 50 masked individuals moving toward them, adding: "They kept kicking me over and over — roughly fifty kicks in total." Photographs published by the Washington Post show Levine on the ground being kicked by a group of masked individuals, despite her visibly wearing a press vest bearing the "PRESS" marking.

Witness testimony and video footage confirmed that Levine was working openly in her capacity as a journalist at the time of the assault.