Israeli settlers attack Palestinian olive pickers and Washington Post journalist in West Bank
Heidi Levine, 64, was taken to hospital after masked settlers beat her during an olive harvest attack in Abu Falah, witnesses say; a Palestinian man was shot by Israeli soldiers.
At a glance
- Israeli settlers attacked Palestinian olive pickers and Washington Post photojournalist Heidi Levine, 64, in Abu Falah on Friday.
- Levine was taken to hospital in Ramallah; her cameras and phone were taken, and a witness said soldiers shot a Palestinian man.
- The Israeli rights group Yesh Din recorded at least 170 attacks since September 27, near the start of the olive harvest, Reuters reported.
Israeli settlers attacked Palestinian olive pickers and a photojournalist working for The Washington Post in the occupied West Bank on Friday, beating villagers and setting olive groves on fire, Al Jazeera reported.
Heidi Levine, a 64-year-old American freelance photographer, was taken to hospital in Ramallah after the assault in Abu Falah, northeast of Ramallah. Witnesses said dozens of masked settlers threw stones, used slingshots and set trees alight while farmers were harvesting olives. Levine was wearing a protective vest marked "PRESS" on the front and back, and her cameras and phone were taken from her, The Washington Post reported.
"She was in very, very bad shape. She couldn't really get up off the ground," Jasper Nathaniel, an independent journalist who witnessed the attack, told Al Jazeera. Levine later told reporters her attackers "just kept kicking me and kicking me, like probably 50 times". Nathaniel said he and others reached her when the settlers briefly backed away, but the group charged again with more stones as they helped her towards paramedics.
A Palestinian man was shot in the thigh by Israeli soldiers during the incident, according to a witness who spoke to Al Jazeera and the Palestinian news agency Wafa. Nathaniel said the soldiers arrived after the settler assault and opened fire and used tear gas against Palestinians. "They do nothing to stop the settlers," he said, adding that troops pointed their guns at paramedics helping the wounded man and shoved journalists.
Post editor calls for investigation
Matt Murray, executive editor of The Washington Post, said in a statement: "We are outraged by this unwarranted attack on a journalist doing her job and urge a thorough investigation and follow-through from authorities."
Violence reported across the West Bank
Other attacks on olive harvesters were reported the same day. In Burqa, east of Ramallah, four Palestinians were reported injured in a settler attack, while in nearby Turmus Aya settlers assaulted farmers and burned vehicles and olive trees. A civil defence volunteer was also injured, according to Wafa.
The incidents follow the killing of Ali Hassan Yasser al-Bazzari, 44, during an assault on Palestinians gathering olives near Burqa, northwest of Nablus, on October 7. Witnesses said settlers and Israeli soldiers attacked the harvesters. On October 6, armed settlers beat Palestinian AFP photographer Jaafar Ashtiyeh, 58, with rifle butts near Aqraba, south of Nablus; he was taken to hospital with injuries to his head and torso.
The Israeli rights group Yesh Din has recorded at least 170 attacks since September 27, around the start of the annual olive harvest, Reuters reported. Al Jazeera correspondent Tareq Abu Azzoum said the intimidation has extended beyond farmland to Palestinian homes and vehicles, creating pressure on communities to leave.
Source: Al Jazeera.
Questions and answers
- What happened to Washington Post journalist Heidi Levine?
- Levine, 64, was beaten by Israeli settlers during an olive harvest attack in Abu Falah in the occupied West Bank on Friday and was taken to hospital in Ramallah, witnesses said.
- How many settler attacks have been recorded during the olive harvest?
- The Israeli rights group Yesh Din has recorded at least 170 attacks since September 27, around the start of the annual Palestinian olive harvest, according to Reuters.
- Where did the attacks take place?
- Friday's violence was reported in Abu Falah, Burqa and Turmus Aya near Ramallah. Earlier incidents were reported near Nablus, including the October 7 killing of Ali Hassan Yasser al-Bazzari, 44.
