US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee has condemned an Israeli settler attack on an American photojournalist in the occupied West Bank, demanding a full investigation, arrests and the prosecution of those responsible.
Heidi Levine of The Washington Post suffered serious injuries when she was attacked by Israeli settlers on Friday morning, the newspaper’s executive editor Matt Murray said.
“Attacking a female photographer is a despicable act of terror carried out by masked cowards,” Mr Huckabee said in a post on X early on Sunday. “Dishonourable act of senseless violence.”
The US envoy said Ms Levine had been clearly identified as a journalist and was unarmed. He called for those involved to spend years in prison and demanded prosecution “to the fullest extent of the law”.
The Washington Post said Ms Levine was attacked when "dozens of masked settlers” set fire to shrubs and threw rocks in a “co-ordinated assault” on Palestinian olive harvesters.
“She was knocked to the ground, kicked repeatedly and stripped of her cameras and phone,” the paper said.
Ms Levine was later taken to hospital in Ramallah. Photos showed her lying on a trolley with a wound dressing on the left leg and a gash on her right knee, among other injuries.
The attack comes amid renewed international concern over Israeli settler violence in the West Bank, after European diplomats and a French mayor were assaulted by masked people in a separate incident on Saturday.
Belgium criticised the attack on its consul general and the other diplomats and urged Israel to bring those responsible to justice.
Poland’s Foreign Ministry said preliminary evidence indicated Israeli settlers were responsible for the assault. Polish diplomats travelling in the convoy were unharmed, the ministry said.
“We expect the Israeli authorities to provide urgent and detailed explanations, identify those responsible and ensure that they are held accountable,” it added. “We also expect effective measures to be taken to prevent similar incidents from occurring in the future.”
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said the mayor of a French town had also been assaulted by what he described as “extremist settlers” during Saturday’s incident. He called on Israeli authorities to stop the violence.
Israeli President Isaac Herzog called Ms Levine to apologise for the attack and urged an investigation. The Israeli military described the violence as intolerable and said the incidents would be investigated.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said the circumstances remained unclear and more evidence was needed before responsibility could be established. It also noted that the diplomats’ visit had not been coordinated with Israeli security officials.
Britain, France, Canada and other countries announced sanctions focused on Israeli settlements last month, while the US said it would not join those measures.
