US Ambassador Calls for Arrests After American Journalist Attacked
Heidi Levine, a Washington Post journalist, was severely injured last Friday. She was covering the annual olive harvest in the occupied West Bank. Israeli settlers attacked her and several Palestinians.
United States Ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee, has demanded justice. He called for the people who attacked Ms. Levine to be arrested and jailed. Ambassador Huckabee said the attack was a “terrible act of violence.” He wrote on social media that masked people carried out the attack. He believes those who attacked the unarmed reporter should spend many years in prison. The ambassador called for a full investigation and prosecution under the law.
Witnesses said Israeli settlers entered the area by force. They beat Ms. Levine and took her passport, phone, wallet, and camera equipment. Ms. Levine said the attackers carried bottles and slingshots. She said they kicked her for about 10 minutes. She tried to protect her cameras and bag during the attack.
Independent journalist Jasper Nathaniel saw the attack. He said Ms. Levine was in very bad condition. She could not get up from the ground easily. Ms. Levine, who is 64 years old, was taken to a hospital. This happened after the attack in Abu Falah, near Ramallah.
She had surgery on her finger. It was almost torn from her hand. Ms. Levine also suffered a broken rib and several broken bones in her back. Her daughter told The Associated Press that she had many deep cuts.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu commented on the incident. He suggested that Palestinians or “far-left” activists might be responsible. He did not say Israeli settlers were the attackers. Mr. Netanyahu seeks to gain more support before elections on October 27. He has strong backing from settler groups. Ambassador Huckabee is a strong ally of Israel. He did not name the attackers as settlers. This was after Mr. Netanyahu questioned who was responsible.
Ambassador Huckabee has often criticized settler attacks against Americans. In September, he met Palestinian-Americans in the West Bank town of Turmus Aya. He listened to their stories about past attacks. In August, he called a long siege by Israeli settlers an “act of terror.” The US State Department spoke carefully about the attack on Friday. It said it condemned “criminal violence by any group.”
