World

US Calls for Israel to Prosecute Attacks on American Journalist

By Al Jazeera Staff

U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee has demanded that Israel prosecute and imprison those responsible for the assault on American journalist Heidi Levine in the occupied West Bank. Huckabee posted on X on Saturday that the attack on the unarmed reporter was a “despicable act of terror” carried out by masked individuals and called for a full investigation, arrest and prosecution. He added that the attackers should spend years in prison.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio also urged Israel to take stronger action against settler violence. Speaking at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland, Rubio said the State Department had inquired about the attack and expected a response from the U.S. embassy in Jerusalem by Sunday. He described the images of the assault as “very disturbing” and said Washington wants Israel to “crack down” on such incidents.

Levine, a 64‑year‑old photojournalist for The Washington Post, was covering Palestinians’ annual olive harvest on Friday when Israeli settlers attacked her and several Palestinians. Witnesses report that the attackers, armed with bottles and slingshots, beat Levine, stole her passport, phone, wallet and equipment, and forced her to the ground for about ten minutes. Levine was taken to a hospital in Abu Falah, northeast of Ramallah, where she underwent surgery for a finger that was nearly detached, suffered a broken rib, multiple broken vertebrae and lacerations.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Friday that Palestinians or “far‑left” activists might have been responsible for the attack, a claim that Huckabee rejected, insisting the perpetrators were settlers.

The State Department’s statement on the incident used cautious language, condemning “criminal violence by any party.” According to Yesh Din, an Israeli group that monitors settlement activity, settlers have carried out at least 170 pogroms against Palestinians since September 27, the start of the olive harvest.

Huckabee, who has previously described a days‑long Israeli settler siege as an “act of terror,” met with Palestinian‑Americans in Turmus Aya in September to hear testimony about pogroms. He has been a vocal critic of settler attacks against Americans.

Rubio said the Trump administration would communicate its expectations to Israel to prevent such incidents in the future, adding that “we don’t need that right now; Israel doesn’t need that right now.”