US ambassador urges Israel to prosecute attackers of American journalist

What the report says

US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee has called on Israel to investigate, arrest and prosecute those behind the assault on Washington Post journalist Heidi Levine in the occupied West Bank. In posts on X, the Trump-appointed ambassador described the attack as a “despicable act of terror” and said those who targeted an unarmed reporter should face prison. Al Jazeera reported that Huckabee did not directly name the assailants as settlers, even as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu suggested Palestinians or “far-left” activists might have been involved.

According to the report, Levine was covering the annual olive harvest on Friday near Abu Falah, northeast of Ramallah, when Israeli settlers attacked her and several Palestinians. Witnesses said the group stormed the area, beat her and took her passport, phone, wallet and equipment. Levine was later taken to hospital in Ramallah.

Her daughter told The Associated Press that Levine underwent surgery on a finger that was nearly detached and suffered a broken rib, broken vertebrae and lacerations. The report said the incident has renewed attention on violence by Israeli settlers in the West Bank, a longstanding flashpoint in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Al Jazeera also noted that the US State Department condemned the violence in more cautious language, denouncing criminal violence by any side.