Israeli settlers brutally attacked Palestinian olive pickers and a photojournalist working for The Washington Post in the occupied West Bank on Friday, beating villagers and setting olive groves ablaze. The attack was among several targeting Palestinians trying to gather their olive harvest, with further assaults and arson reported in nearby communities as well. These incidents are just the latest in weeks of intensifying pogroms on local communities in the West Bank by Israelis from illegal settlements who are largely protected – or at least unrestricted – by Israeli forces.
Veteran journalist Heidi Levine, 64, was taken to hospital after the assault on Friday in Abu Falah, northeast of Ramallah. A Palestinian man was also shot in the thigh by Israeli soldiers, according to a witness who spoke to Al Jazeera and the Palestinian news agency Wafa. Dozens of masked settlers attacked Palestinian farmers harvesting olives, throwing stones, using slingshots and setting trees on fire.
Levine, an American freelance photojournalist who works for The Washington Post, fell to the ground during the attack before she was set upon, witnesses said. Levine later told reporters that her attackers “just kept kicking me and kicking me, like probably 50 times”. Levine was wearing a protective vest marked “PRESS” on the front and back.
Her cameras and phone were taken from her during the assault, the Washington Post reported. Nathaniel said he and others managed to reach her when the settlers briefly backed away, but she struggled to stand. She couldn’t really get up off the ground,” he said.
As they helped her towards paramedics, settlers charged again, throwing more stones, he added. Levine was eventually taken to hospital in Ramallah. Nathaniel said Israeli soldiers arrived after the settler assault and opened fire and used tear gas against Palestinians, shooting a man in the leg.
Wafa also reported that Israeli forces fired live ammunition and tear gas at Palestinians during the attack. After the soldiers left, Palestinians returned to harvesting their olives, Nathaniel added. There was violence in other parts of the occupied West Bank on Friday, as well.
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