Masked settlers beat Washington Post photojournalist covering olive harvest in West Bank

Heidi Levine lay on her side on a dirt path in Abu Falah, her hands over her face, as at least three settlers surrounded her and kicked her repeatedly. Levine, a Washington Post photojournalist, had been covering Palestinian farmers gathering olives in a terraced grove north of Ramallah in the occupied West Bank.

Approximately 80 masked Israeli settlers dressed in black came down from a hill above the grove on 16 October 2026, armed with clubs, rocks, slingshots and gas canisters. Some carried firearms. Palestinian farmers and journalists had gathered there for the harvest.

The settlers set fire to olive trees, burning about a dozen, and threw rocks at Palestinians and journalists in a coordinated assault. A Reuters photographer saw at least one armed settler fire a gun.

Levine was pushed to the ground, then beaten, clubbed, robbed, kicked and pulled up by settlers. She suffered lacerations across her body, a broken rib and a finger wound requiring surgery.

Speaking from a hospital bed, she said: 'I was attacked, pushed to the ground. Luckily I had my flak jacket and helmet, otherwise I probably wouldn't even be here, because they just kept kicking me and kicking me.'

Israeli military jeeps arrived during the attack and soldiers fired tear gas towards Palestinians. The Israeli military said soldiers and border police fired warning shots after deploying to the area. Witnesses said the soldiers did nothing to stop the violence.

Levine’s Palestinian colleagues intervened to end the assault. Young Palestinians threw rocks to provide cover for the independent journalist Jasper Nathaniel as he made his way to her.

More settlers carrying machine guns arrived after the initial confrontation. Levine was treated in the emergency room of a government hospital in Ramallah, where she remained in stable condition. At least one other person was injured and taken to a hospital in the Ramallah area.

Moutaz Abdelhadi, 42, a farmer in Abu Falah who witnessed the attack, said: 'The settlers want to attack us and force us from our homes.'

Matt Murray, the Washington Post’s executive editor, called for an investigation into the attack on Levine.

Nathaniel said violence in the West Bank was 'at or near an all-time high right now.' The UN said the past two weeks had already brought more attacks by violent Israeli settlers than the entire harvest season last year, and that settler violence this year had reached an all-time high.