An American photojournalist was injured when masked Israeli men clashed with Palestinians harvesting olives near the West Bank village of Abu Falah, according to eyewitnesses, videos and Palestinian authorities.
Heidi Levine, a veteran journalist working for the Washington Post, was taken to a hospital in Ramallah after being pushed to the ground and beaten. Her camera equipment was also taken during the incident.
Footage shared by the Foreign Press Association showed Levine surrounded by masked men. While she lay on the ground, the men threw stones at Palestinians using their hands and slingshots, while Palestinians also threw stones at them.
Other video showed about 20 men dressed in black or grey clothing coming down a hillside from the area of an Israeli settlement outpost into an olive grove. Two vehicles were set on fire, while a Palestinian man with a bloodied face was led away by a woman and another man.
Levine was shown in hospital with a large wound on one leg and one hand bandaged. “I was attacked, pushed to the ground. Luckily I had my flak jacket and helmet, otherwise I probably wouldn’t even be here, because they just kept kicking and kicking me,” she said.
The Israeli military said it was examining what happened and would issue a statement.
Palestinians injured in West Bank clashes
The Palestine Red Crescent Society said it treated three Palestinians injured in the violence at Abu Falah. One of those wounded had reportedly been shot in the thigh, according to the Palestinian Authority’s official media arm, WAFA.
Further clashes between Israeli settlers and Palestinian olive pickers were reported near the central West Bank villages of Burqa and Turmus Ayya. Four people were treated by the Palestine Red Crescent for injuries sustained near Burqa, WAFA said.
Violence against Palestinians in the West Bank has increased in recent years, particularly since Israel’s current hard-right government was formed in late 2022, according to figures from the United Nations humanitarian office.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has condemned the attacks and promised a crackdown on what he described as a small group of several hundred wayward youths. Despite those pledges, attacks have continued in recent weeks.
Yesh Din, an Israeli settlement monitoring organisation, said it had recorded 486 violent incidents against Palestinians in 181 localities over the previous 18 days. It said 234 of those incidents were linked to the olive harvest.
In August, three NBC journalists and a Palestinian woman they were interviewing were also attacked by Israeli settlers in the West Bank.
