US Envoy Demands Prosecution of Assailants in West Bank Attack on Journalist

Published On 17 Oct 202617 Oct 2026

United States Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee has demanded that Israel prosecute those responsible for the assault on Washington Post journalist Heidi Levine in the occupied West Bank.

“Attacking a female photographer is a despicable act of terror carried out by masked cowards,” Huckabee wrote on X on Saturday, calling for those involved to face lengthy prison sentences. “We have called for a full investigation, arrest, and prosecution to the fullest extent of the law against whoever participated in this.”

Levine was reporting on the annual olive harvest in the occupied West Bank on Friday when she was attacked by Israeli settlers along with several Palestinians.

list of 3 itemsend of list

According to witnesses, the attackers, armed with bottles and slingshots, overpowered Levine, beating her and seizing her passport, phone, and equipment. “They were kicking me for about ten minutes while I tried to hold onto my cameras and bag,” Levine recounted.

Jasper Nathaniel, an independent journalist who witnessed the incident, told Al Jazeera that Levine was “in very, very bad shape” and struggled to rise from the ground.

Levine, 64, was hospitalized following the assault in Abu Falah, northeast of Ramallah. Her injuries included a finger that nearly detached from her hand, multiple broken vertebrae, a fractured rib, and various lacerations, her daughter confirmed to The Associated Press.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, seeking to strengthen support among his pro-settlement right-wing base before upcoming elections, suggested on Friday that Palestinians or “far-left” activists might have been behind the attack on Levine and others.

Huckabee, a vocal critic of Israeli settler violence against Americans and a staunch ally of Israel, did not publicly name the perpetrators as settlers despite Netanyahu’s attempt to cast doubt on their identity.

The US State Department issued a statement condemning the attack on Friday but used more measured language, denouncing “criminal violence by any party.” Earlier this year, Huckabee met with Palestinian-Americans in Turmus Ayya to hear testimonies regarding settler violence. He also previously described a multi-day Israeli settler-imposed siege as an “act of terror.”

Source link