Settlers beat Washington Post photographer: “They kicked me for 10 minutes”

Israeli settlers attacked Washington Post photographer Heidi Levine with stones and sticks while she was covering the olive harvest in the occupied West Bank. The 64-year-old said she was kicked for about 10 minutes and that no Israeli soldiers were around.

Israeli settlers attacked veteran Washington Post photographer Heidi Levine in the occupied West Bank. Levine, 64, was covering the olive harvest near the village of Abu Falah, northeast of Ramallah, when masked settlers armed with stones and sticks knocked her to the ground and beat her. Her cameras and phone were taken.

Wearing a helmet and a vest marked “Press,” Levine said from a hospital in Ramallah: “I fell to the ground and they kicked me for about 10 minutes. There were no Israeli soldiers around at the time.” She was seen with a leg wound and a bandaged hand and credited her vest and helmet with protecting her.

Washington Post: “Outraged”

Washington Post photographer Heidi Levine in hospital after the attack

Washington Post Executive Editor Matt Murray said the paper was outraged and called for a thorough investigation. The Israeli military said it “strongly condemns” the incident, and the army and police opened investigations. The Prime Minister’s Office condemned the violence but said the facts “remain unclear.” The U.S. Embassy condemned criminal violence in the West Bank and called for investigations and prosecutions.

Harvest-season attacks mount

The same day, settlers torched vehicles and olive trees in Turmus Ayya and four Palestinians picking olives were injured in Burqa, while a Palestinian was shot in the thigh in Abu Falah. Israeli rights group Yesh Din said it had recorded 486 violent incidents against Palestinians in 181 localities over the past 18 days, 234 of them linked to the olive harvest. Ten days earlier, AFP photographer Jaafar Ashtiyeh was attacked by settlers while covering the harvest.

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