US Journalist and Palestinians Attacked by Israeli Settlers During Olive Harvest in West Bank

Veteran photojournalist Heidi Levine, 64, working for The Washington Post, was among those attacked by Israeli settlers on Friday in Abu Falah, northeast of Ramallah, in the occupied West Bank. The assault occurred while Palestinian farmers were harvesting olives. According to witnesses, dozens of masked settlers attacked the farmers, using stones, slingshots, and setting olive trees ablaze. Levine sustained multiple injuries and was taken to a hospital in Ramallah. Her cameras and phone were reportedly stolen during the incident.

Witnesses described the scene, with independent journalist Jasper Nathaniel stating that Levine fell to the ground and was subsequently beaten and robbed by the settlers. Despite wearing a vest marked "PRESS," she was severely injured. As paramedics and others attempted to assist her, settlers reportedly charged again, throwing more stones.

Following the settler attack, Israeli soldiers arrived at the scene. According to Nathaniel and reports from Wafa, the Palestinian news agency, the soldiers did not intervene to stop the settlers. Instead, they opened fire and used tear gas against Palestinians, with one man being shot in the thigh. Soldiers also reportedly pointed their guns at paramedics and shoved journalists.

Similar attacks on Palestinian olive pickers were reported in other areas of the occupied West Bank on Friday. In Burqa, east of Ramallah, four Palestinians were injured in a settler attack. In nearby Turmus Aya, settlers assaulted farmers and burned vehicles and olive trees, injuring a civil defence volunteer.

These incidents follow the killing of Ali Hassan Yasser al-Bazzari, 44, on October 7, during an assault on olive harvesters near Burqa. Witnesses reported that both settlers and Israeli soldiers were involved in that attack. Journalists documenting the violence have also been targeted; on October 6, AFP photographer Jaafar Ashtiyeh was beaten by armed settlers near Aqraba, south of Nablus, sustaining injuries to his head and torso.

The Israeli rights group Yesh Din has recorded at least 170 such attacks, described as pogroms, since September 27, coinciding with the start of the annual olive harvest. These attacks threaten Palestinian livelihoods, leading to assaults, destruction of trees, theft of crops, and intimidation aimed at forcing communities to leave their land, potentially for the expansion of Israeli settlements.