Israeli Settlers Attack Palestinians and Washington Post Journalist in West Bank

Dozens of Israeli settlers descended on a Palestinian olive grove in the village of Abu Falah in the occupied West Bank on Friday, targeting harvesters and a group of journalists covering the event. The attackers were reported to be wearing black balaclavas and carrying firearms, clubs and slingshots. Video footage taken by a journalist present at the scene shows the settlers moving through the orchard, beating individuals with clubs and shouting as they advanced.

Among those assaulted was veteran Washington Post photographer Heidi Levine, who was hospitalized after being knocked to the ground, repeatedly kicked and stripped of her camera equipment, bag and phone. Levine, who was wearing a flak jacket and helmet, said she was “brutally attacked” and that the assailants continued to strike her even after she was briefly helped to her feet. She later described the incident from a hospital bed, noting that without her protective gear she might not have survived the assault.

A Palestinian man accompanying the harvesters was also injured and required medical attention. The olive harvest, an annual cultural and economic activity for Palestinian communities, was interrupted as the settlers forced the workers to abandon the trees. The incident occurred amid a reported rise in settler violence in the West Bank, with local residents describing the attack as coordinated and unusually aggressive.

The confrontation was captured on video and shared by a journalist and activist who identified himself as Andrey X. His footage shows the masked settlers battering Levine and other individuals, while also documenting the broader disruption of the harvest. The video corroborates eyewitness accounts of the number of attackers, which was estimated at around fifty.

Authorities have not yet released details on any arrests or investigations related to the attack. The incident adds to ongoing concerns about security for civilians and journalists operating in the occupied territories, where tensions between settlers and Palestinian residents have been escalating in recent months.