The IDF amongst olive trees following a settler attack during harvest in the West Bank village of Abu Falah. Alamy Stock Photo
occupied territories
Heidi Levine said she was kicked and had her camera and bag stolen during the incident.
A WASHINGTON POST photojournalist has been hospitalised after Israeli settlers attacked her and a group of Palestinians in the occupied West Bank.
It happened during an annual olive harvest in the village of Abu Falah, northeast of Ramallah.
Heidi Levine was among a number of journalists working in the area when dozens of settlers began to throw rocks towards the Palestinians who were harvesting the olive trees, some of which they subsequently set on fire.
It comes 10 days after settlers beat an AFP photographer covering the West Bank olive harvest, Jaafar Ashtiyeh, leaving him also requiring hospital treatment.
Footage of the incident shared by a journalist on X shows the harvest taking place before the settlers, who are all wearing black and have their faces covered, begin setting fire to the olive trees and throwing rocks. Some of them were armed with sticks and slingshots.
In one part of the footage, Levine can be seen being pushed to the ground and surrounded by at least three masked men, with one then attempting to grab her bag.
Other journalists then help Levine up and begin to retreat with her while settlers continue to throw rocks, with some of the Palestinians throwing rocks back.
The Israeli army then arrived at the scene. A Palestinian man was subsequently shot.
At least two journalists who were present posted on X to say they fired tear gas towards the Palestinians and journalists and “cooperated” with the settlers.
AFP did not witness the moment of the attack, but one of the agency’s journalists in Turmus Ayya saw Palestinian medics tending to someone on the ground and said Israeli soldiers pushed away journalists trying to approach.
Speaking from her hospital bed, Levine, who has been covering the West Bank for over three decades, said this is the second time she has been “brutally attacked”.
“We saw, in the distance on the hilltop, I would say at least 50 masked men,” she said.
“I had a 100 to 500mm lens that you could see the masks, with slingshots, and when they came running down, I was attacked, pushed to the ground.
“Luckily I had my flak jacket and my helmet. Otherwise, I probably wouldn’t even be here, because they just kept kicking me and kicking me, probably 50 times.”
Heidi Levine is up and speaking from the hospital in Ramallah. https://t.co/VAar6Z7PSS
— jasper nathaniel (@infinite_jaz) October 16, 2026
She said that after 10 minutes, the men tried to get her to stand up before pushing her down and kicking her again.
“I was trying to hold onto my cameras and my pouch, and I had my phone on a string on my neck. They eventually just broke everything off of me and continued kicking me.
“The next thing I noticed, I was getting evacuated by my Palestinian colleagues and medical service that forced me in an ambulance.”
Washington Post ‘outraged’
In a statement, Washington Post executive editor Matt Murray confirmed that Levine was attacked while reporting in the West Bank this morning.
“She was wearing visible markings clearly identifying her as a journalist,” he said.
“While we are relieved that Heidi has received medical care and is safe, we are outraged by this unwarranted attack on a journalist doing her job and urge a thorough investigation and follow-through from authorities.”
The Foreign Press Association, which represents international media in Israel and the Palestinian territories, said the settlers stole Levine’s passport, phone, wallet and equipment.
This is the latest in a long line of violent attacks by Israeli settlers against journalists and other civilians in the occupied West Bank.
“Yet our repeated calls for action to confront this lawlessness have been ignored by Israeli authorities,” it added.
A spokesman for the US embassy in Jerusalem said it was aware of reports of the attack, declining to comment further due to privacy laws.
“We have no higher responsibility than protecting American citizens,” he said.
In a statement, the IDF said it “strongly condemns this incident” and that attempts “to incite friction between populations undermine security in the area”.
It said forces were dispatched to the area following a report of a violent confrontation. “Foreign media personnel were present at the scene and a female journalist was injured during the confrontation,” they said.
“All details of the incident will be examined. Upon arriving to the scene, the forces acted to disperse the confrontation using riot dispersal means.”
The IDF said that at another location where the confrontation took place, soldiers “initially fired warning shots into the air and then fired toward a suspect who ran toward them, carrying a sharp object and posed a threat to them”.
“Israeli Police forces and forensic investigators from the Judea and Samaria District will enter the area with IDF security to collect findings and evidence, as well as take testimonies.”
They added: “Violence against innocent civilians is a grave and intolerable phenomenon that requires a coordinated, multi-agency response. The IDF will work together with the relevant authorities to eradicate this phenomenon.”
Violence has flared in recent months in the West Bank with near-daily attacks, thefts or vandalism by Israeli settlers against Palestinians.
According to the UN, there were 2,803 attacks by Israeli settlers in the West Bank resulting in casualties and/or property damage between January 2025 and May 2026.
Excluding east Jerusalem, around three million Palestinians live in the West Bank, which Israel has occupied since 1967, alongside more than 500,000 Israelis residing in settlements considered illegal under international law.
With reporting from © AFP 2026