Israeli settlers beat Palestinians and a U.S. photojournalist in West Bank attacks

Masked Israeli settlers attacked Palestinians as they were harvesting olives in the occupied West Bank on Friday, injuring several people including an American photojournalist.

The Washington Post said photographer Heidi Levine was reporting in the West Bank, wearing a protective vest clearly marked as "press," when she was beaten.

"Today I was brutally attacked," Levine said in a video filmed at a hospital. "We saw in the distance, in the hilltop, I would say at least 50 masked men, slingshots. And when they came running down, I was attacked, pushed to the ground." She said "they just kept kicking me and kicking me." They also tore her cameras and phone off her.

She said medical workers rushed her in an ambulance to a hospital. Washington Post Executive Editor Matt Murray said in a statement Levine has received medical care and is safe.

"We are outraged by this unwarranted attack on a journalist doing her job and urge a thorough investigation and follow-through from authorities," Murray said.

The Post said the attack happened when Palestinians were trying to gather their olive harvest. It said settlers set Palestinian olive groves on fire and hurled stones using slingshots.

Israeli police issued a statement acknowledging reports that a foreign journalist was injured and said it would investigate the incident and "bring those involved to justice."

The U.S. State Department said it was aware of the reports and contacted The Washington Post to offer consular assistance. "We condemn criminal violence by any party in the West Bank and support appropriate investigations as well as legal accountability for those responsible," the State Department said, without mentioning the assault of an American photojournalist.

There were two dozen settler attacks on Palestinian olive harvesters Friday, leaving 20 people injured, according to the Palestinian Red Crescent Society.

The United Nations' humanitarian office for Gaza and the West Bank said settler attacks during the olive harvest season have killed one Palestinian and damaged more than 2,500 olive trees or saplings.

The attacks came as groups of Israeli settlers have stepped up their assaults on Palestinians in the West Bank. They also follow another attack earlier this month, when Israelis beat Agence France-Presse photojournalist Jaafar Ashtiyeh, as he was covering settler violence against Palestinian olive farmers in the West Bank.

Sara Qudah, who handles the Middle East for the Committee to Protect Journalists, said Levine's beating was not an isolated incident for journalists covering the West Bank olive harvest. "It's part of a disturbing pattern of violence and harassment against journalists regardless of their nationalities," she said. She added that the attackers have no reason to fear consequences because Israeli authorities have failed to crack down on this.

The Palestinian Journalists Syndicate also condemned the attack as an "assault on press freedom" and a violation of rules protecting journalists during conflicts.

Nuha Musleh contributed reporting from Ramallah, West Bank.