Israeli Settlers Launch a Coordinated Attack in the West Bank
Welcome back to World Brief, where we’re looking at Israeli settler attacks in the West Bank, Russian strikes on Ukraine’s power grid, and a looming independence referendum in a Canadian province.
‘They Just Kept Kicking Me’
Dozens of masked Israeli settlers carried out a mass coordinated attack on Palestinian civilians harvesting olives in eight West Bank villages on Friday, injuring at least 20 people and setting olive groves on fire. Among those targeted in the assault was Washington Post photojournalist Heidi Levine, who was wearing a protective vest marked “PRESS” when she was attacked. Levine is being treated for a broken rib and multiple lacerations and will require surgery on one of her hands.
Welcome back to World Brief, where we’re looking at Israeli settler attacks in the West Bank, Russian strikes on Ukraine’s power grid, and a looming independence referendum in a Canadian province.
‘They Just Kept Kicking Me’
Dozens of masked Israeli settlers carried out a mass coordinated attack on Palestinian civilians harvesting olives in eight West Bank villages on Friday, injuring at least 20 people and setting olive groves on fire. Among those targeted in the assault was Washington Post photojournalist Heidi Levine, who was wearing a protective vest marked “PRESS” when she was attacked. Levine is being treated for a broken rib and multiple lacerations and will require surgery on one of her hands.
“They just kept kicking me and kicking me, like probably 50 times,” Levine told reporters. Other journalists in the area reported having stones thrown at them, forcing them to flee.
This is not the first time that reporters have been targeted in the West Bank. According to the Committee to Protect Journalists, Israeli settlers assaulted, threatened, or obstructed at least 35 journalists working in the occupied territory during the first eight months of this year. That does not include Palestinian AFP photojournalist Jaafar Ashtiyeh, who was attacked by armed Israeli settlers outside of the city of Nablus on Oct. 6.
Friday’s assault on Levine “is the latest in a long line of violent attacks by Israeli settlers against journalists and other civilians in the occupied West Bank,” the Israeli Foreign Press Association said in a statement. “Yet our repeated calls for action to confront this lawlessness have been ignored by Israeli authorities.”
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has repeatedly brushed off Israeli settler attacks on Palestinians, and some of........
