Palestinians, American Journalist Attacked in West Bank Massacre: What We Know

Israeli settlers attacked Palestinians harvesting olives and severely beat Washington Post photojournalist Heidi Levin.

Israeli settlers brutally attacked Palestinian olive pickers and a Washington Post photographer in the occupied West Bank on Friday, beating villagers and burning olive groves.

The attack was among several Palestinians trying to gather their olive harvest, and more attacks and fires were reported in nearby communities.

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The end of the list is the latest in weeks of escalating massacres of local communities in the West Bank by Israelis from illegal settlements that are largely protected — or at least indefinitely — by Israeli forces.

Veteran journalist Heidi Levine, 64, was taken to hospital after Friday's attack in Abu Falah, northeast of Ramallah. A Palestinian man was also shot in the thigh by Israeli soldiers, according to a witness who spoke to Al Jazeera and Ambassador Arjan Wafa.

Dozens of masked settlers attacked Palestinian farmers who were harvesting olives, throwing stones, using slingshots and setting trees on fire.

Witnesses said Levin, an American freelance photojournalist working for the Washington Post, fell to the ground during the attack before he was attacked. We looked and saw a journalist on the ground with people, Jasper Nathaniel, an independent journalist who witnessed the attack, told Al Jazeera.

Levin later told reporters that his attackers "just kicked me, probably 50 times."

Levin was wearing a protective vest with the word "PRESS" on the front and back. His cameras and phone were taken from him during the attack, the Washington Post reported.

Nathaniel said he and others were able to catch up to him when the settlers retreated briefly, but he barely held on. He was in very, very bad shape. "He couldn't really get off the ground."

As they helped him to help the rescuers, the settlers attacked again, throwing more stones, he added. Levin was finally transferred to Ramallah Hospital.

Nathaniel said Israeli soldiers moved in after the settlers attacked and opened fire, using tear gas against Palestinians and shooting a man in the leg. "They don't do anything to stop the settlers and they rush into the city and start firing guns and tear gas and shoot a Palestinian man in the leg," he said.

"They are pointing their guns at the rescuers who are helping him, pushing the journalists, including me," Nathaniel said. and added that the man was eventually transported by ambulance.

We are outraged by this unjustified attack on a journalist doing his job and we demand a judge.

Investigation and follow-up should be done by the authorities." The Washington Post Editor-in-Chief Metmori said in a statement.

Wafa also reported that Israeli forces fired live bullets and tear gas at Palestinians during the attack. After the soldiers left, the Palestinians returned to harvest their olives, Nathaniel added.

Where else has Zaytoun Chian been attacked?

On Friday, violence occurred in other parts of the occupied West Bank. In Burqa, east of Ramallah, four Palestinians were injured when settlers attacked olive pickers. Near Tormos Aya, settlers attacked farmers and burned vehicles and olive trees. According to Wafa, a civil defense volunteer was also injured.

The attacks came after Ali Hassan Yaser al-Bazari, 44, was killed in an attack on Palestinians gathering olives near Burqa, northwest of Nablus, on October 7. Witnesses reported that settlers and Israeli soldiers attacked harvesters.

The massacre of Israeli settlers has been going on for weeks and has increased with the start of the Palestinian olive harvest season.

Violence threatens Palestinians' livelihoods and access to their land. Farmers endure attacks, destruction of trees and theft of crops, while settlers themselves have begun stealing olives from Palestinian orchards.

Al Jazeera's Tariq Abu Azum reported that the intimidation extends beyond farmland to Palestinian homes and vehicles, pressuring communities to leave.

"The people there live under the threat of attack not only on their agricultural land, but also on their property.

Cars and houses have been repeatedly hit by settler attacks, apparently used by the Israeli army to create a deterrent environment with Palestinians expected to leave the areas so they can later turn them into Israeli settlements.