The Washington Post on Friday denounced an attack on its photographer Heidi Levine by illegal Israeli settlers while she was covering events in the occupied West Bank, expressing outrage over the assault on a journalist carrying out her reporting duties.
"This morning, a Washington Post photographer, Heidi Levine, was attacked by Israeli settlers while reporting in the West Bank,” the newspaper’s Executive Editor Matt Murray said in a statement.
"She was wearing visible markings clearly identifying her as a journalist,” he added.
Murray said the Post is "relieved that Heidi has received medical care and is safe,” but stressed: "We are outraged by this unwarranted attack on a journalist doing her job and urge a thorough investigation and follow-through from authorities.”
Palestinian rights group Al-Baydar said Levine was assaulted by the occupiers in the presence of Israeli troops, and was taken to Al-Istishari Hospital.
Levine was one of two journalists injured on Friday in attacks by Israeli occupiers across the Ramallah and Al-Bireh governorate, which also left at least 12 Palestinians wounded, many of them farmers harvesting olives, according to the Palestinian Red Crescent Society, the Civil Defense and Al-Baydar.
The Palestinian Colonization and Wall Resistance Commission said this week it had documented at least 136 attacks linked to the olive harvest season by Israeli forces and occupiers since the beginning of October.
The olive harvest is a vital source of income for thousands of Palestinian families in the West Bank, where farmers face growing attacks and restrictions on access to their land during the season.
Attacks by Israeli forces and occupiers against Palestinians and their property across the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, have intensified since the start of the genocide in Gaza in October 2023.