US ambassador calls West Bank settler attack on photojournalist Heidi Levine a 'despicable act of terror'
US ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee has denounced a West Bank settler attack on US photojournalist Heidi Levine as a "despicable act of terror", saying the US has called for a full investigation and for those responsible to be arrested and prosecuted.
A camera bag and a fallen tripod lie on stony ground in an olive grove, a figure seen from far away walking between the trees.
Huckabee's condemnation
Mike Huckabee, the US ambassador to Israel, used a post on X on Saturday to condemn the west bank settler attack on us photojournalist Heidi Levine, stating that she was a US citizen who was clearly identifiable as a journalist at the time. He described the assault as "vicious and cowardly" and demanded that it be fully investigated.
Attacking a female photographer is despicable act of terror carried out by masked cowards.
The ambassador, a rightwing ally of Donald Trump, wrote that his office had called for those behind the attack to face the law, saying: "We have called for a full investigation, arrest, and prosecution to the fullest extent of the law."
Who was attacked
Levine, 63, is an award-winning photojournalist for the Washington Post who lives in Israel. According to her account, masked Israeli settlers attacked her last Friday while they used clubs and other weapons against Palestinians harvesting olives in occupied West Bank towns.
Her injuries have required hospital treatment, and she is recovering in a hospital in Petah Tikva near Tel Aviv:
- She underwent hand surgery and is also being treated for broken ribs and other injuries.
- She said the settlers beat her for more than 10 minutes and stole her camera, passport and phone.
- She credited her flak jacket and helmet with protecting her as the settlers kept kicking her, saying otherwise she probably would not be alive.
- Palestinian colleagues intervened and ended the attack, she said.
Levine blamed "Jewish terrorists" for Thursday's attack. She said she plans to return to work once she has recovered, telling an interviewer: "They cracked my bones, they haven't cracked my spirit."
Netanyahu's 'alleged' and Levine's response
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu condemned "violence against anyone" but referred to the assault on Levine as "alleged", saying its circumstances remain unclear.
Levine, speaking in an Associated Press interview on Sunday, said she was "shocked and insulted" by the prime minister's choice of the word "alleged", arguing that he "had all the evidence on the table".
She said Israel's president, Isaac Herzog, had called her in hospital, and that several top former security and intelligence officials signed a letter expressing shame over the attack. Of her four decades in the region, she said: "I've been covering this region for over 40 years, and I have never seen this country in such a state as it is today."
Other reactions and accountability record
Beyond the statements from Israeli and American officials, the attack on Levine has drawn demands for answers from her employer and from Israeli rights monitors tracking how such cases end.
- The Washington Post has reiterated its call for a full and transparent investigation into the attack on its photographer.
- The Israeli rights group Yesh Din says about 94% of investigations into settler violence since 2005 ended without an indictment, with just 3% leading to full or partial convictions.
The Washington Post's call for a full and transparent investigation remains the outstanding demand as Levine continues her recovery in hospital.
