US Ambassador to Tel Aviv Mike Hakabi described the attack by Israeli settlers on an American journalist in the occupied West Bank as a "despicable terrorist act," and called on Israeli authorities to prosecute the perpetrators and imprison them. Journalist Heidi Levine (63 years old) was taken to the hospital after being attacked by Israeli settlers while she and a group of Palestinians were participating in the annual olive harvest season in the town of Abu Fahlah, northeast of Ramallah.
In the same context, Hakabi clarified via the "X" platform that Levine, a photojournalist for the "Washington Post," suffered serious injuries from a brutal and cowardly attack. According to a statement from the US Embassy, Levine was beaten and kicked by more than 50 masked settlers carrying sticks, while she tried to protect her face by pressing herself to the ground for more than ten minutes.
For his part, Hakabi confirmed that Levine holds American citizenship and was clearly identifiable as a journalist. He added that investigations are underway to identify the attackers, stressing that anyone who attacks a journalist deserves to spend years in prison. He pointed out that they have called for a comprehensive investigation, the arrest of all those involved in the assault, and their prosecution to the fullest extent of the law.
Hakabi noted that attacking a photojournalist is a despicable terrorist act committed by cowardly masked individuals, a vile act characterized by unjustified blind violence. Earlier on the same day, settlers attacked a European diplomatic delegation comprising representatives from France, Belgium, and Poland, in the town of Tuba, east of Ramallah, while they were monitoring the attacks suffered by Palestinian farmers.
Approximately 750,000 settlers live in 156 settlements and 360 outposts in the occupied West Bank, including the eastern part of the occupied city of Jerusalem. Since the beginning of Israel's genocidal war in the Gaza Strip in 2023, attacks by the Israeli army and settler terrorism against Palestinians and their property in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, have intensified.
Source: Anadolu Agency
Comments (0)