Washington Post photographer Heidi Levine said she intends to return to work after being injured in the occupied West Bank, where her assault has drawn competing accounts from Israeli officials and witnesses.
Levine told The Associated Press on Sunday that she was “shocked and insulted” by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s response. She objected to his describing the assault as alleged and said she had not heard from him by Sunday.
The Washington Post reported that masked Israeli settlers assaulted Palestinian villagers picking olives near Abu Falah on Friday, Oct. 16. The newspaper said Levine’s vest identified her as press; she was knocked down and kicked, and her cameras and phone were taken. Her injuries included four broken vertebrae, a broken rib, cuts and a hand injury. The Post said footage appeared to show her being struck again after she fell.
Netanyahu’s office said the circumstances remained under investigation. It cited accounts of roughly 200 Arabs and activists it described as far-left, compared with about 40 Israeli youths. The office also said footage showed masked people on both sides throwing objects, and that a clip appeared to show the person who knocked Levine down helping her up immediately. Reuters witnesses estimated about 80 settlers moved toward the grove; the reports do not explain whether that estimate covers the same people as the office’s count.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said troops had been sent to disperse a large crowd and an initial review found they had not seen the assault. The military said it was examining the soldiers’ actions. The Washington Post reported that police opened a separate investigation.
Reuters reported that olive trees were burned during the incident. The Associated Press reported that olive groves provide income for tens of thousands of Palestinian families. The Washington Post also reported a separate Oct. 6 settler attack on Agence France-Presse photographer Jaafar Ashtiyeh. EconoTimes previously reported on Levine’s hospitalization after the olive-harvest assault.
The Associated Press reported that President Isaac Herzog called Levine and quoted her as saying he was ashamed of what happened. Israel’s national election is scheduled for Oct. 27.
