US Ambassador Mike Huckabee reads a report of a journalist beaten in West Bank. Then he describes the alleged attack: ‘despicable act of terror’
Violence shouldn't be tolerated.
US ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee has labeled the recent attack on Washington Post photojournalist Heidi Levine a “despicable act of terror,” demanding that those responsible face arrest and prosecution. This blunt condemnation arrives as reports of violence in the West Bank surge, with Levine currently recovering from surgery after being beaten by masked settlers.
According to The Guardian, Levine, who is 63 and an award-winning journalist, was documenting Palestinian farmers harvesting olives last Friday when she was targeted. She describes a brutal ordeal lasting over 10 minutes, where masked individuals wielding clubs and other weapons attacked her. The alleged assault left her with broken ribs and injuries to her hand that required surgery at a hospital in Petah Tikva.
Levine credits her survival to the fact that she was wearing a flak jacket and helmet, and she notes that the alleged attack only stopped when her Palestinian colleagues stepped in to help. Beyond the physical harm, she claimed that the attackers also stole her phone, passport, and camera.
Huckabee sees the alleged attack as “vicious and cowardly”
Huckabee expressed his stance on X on Saturday, calling the incident a “vicious and cowardly attack” on a clearly identified US citizen. He stated, “Attacking a female photographer is despicable act of terror carried out by masked cowards. Dishonorable act of senseless violence.” He further added, “We have called for a full investigation, arrest, and prosecution to the fullest extent of the law to whoever participated in this.”
The official reaction from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been much more reserved. He characterized the attack as “alleged” and suggested its circumstances are unclear, a stance that Levine described as insulting. In an interview on Sunday, she noted that the prime minister had all the evidence available to him.
President Donald Trump has publicly endorsed Netanyahu for re-election, describing him as a “Great Warrior Prime Minister.” He even said that Netanyahu will not be arrested while he is in the U.S.
The president of Israel already visited Levine
President Isaac Herzog reached out to Levine in the hospital to express his personal shame, calling the attack “outrageous and shocking.” Meanwhile, political pressure is mounting as Israel approaches elections on October 27. Gadi Eisenkot, a rival to the prime minister, has been critical of the government, describing the ongoing violence as “Jewish terrorism, under the auspices of the Israeli government.”
The track record for such incidents is quite often poor. Data from the rights group Yesh Din indicates that since 2005, roughly 94% of investigations into settler violence have closed without an indictment.
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