WaPo photojournalist has surgery on hand after being beaten by settlers in West Bank

Washington Post photographer Heidi Levine on Saturday underwent surgery on her finger, which was nearly detached from her hand after she was beaten by settlers in the West Bank a day earlier.

The assault occurred near the village of Abu Falah, north of Ramallah, where some 80 settlers, many of them masked and some of them carrying gas canisters, descended from a hill to the terraced olive grove and began throwing rocks and beating Palestinians and accompanying activists, as well as Levine.

Levine said the perpetrators — armed with bottles and slingshots — “were kicking me for like 10 minutes and I was trying to hold onto my cameras and my bag.” She said her helmet and protective vest, which was marked “PRESS,” likely saved her from more serious injuries.

Levine said the attack ended when her Palestinian colleagues intervened, after which medics rushed her in an ambulance to a clinic in Abu Falah and then to a hospital in Ramallah.

In footage, the photojournalist was seen at one point lying on the ground as masked individuals beat her with sticks before fleeing the scene.

Her daughter, Ashley Milner, told the Associated Press on Saturday that the finger on her mother’s left hand was cut to the bone and a tendon was visible. She said Levine also had a broken rib and multiple broken vertebrae, as well as lacerations across her body.

Severe settler + soldier attack on olive harvesters in Abu Falah. American WaPo journalist Heidi Levine badly wounded. Machine gunfire—at least one Palestinian shot. Tear gas. Soldiers assaulting journalists. pic.twitter.com/He61cNYk0c

— jasper nathaniel (@infinite_jaz) October 16, 2026

Rabin Medical Center in central Israel, where Levine was being treated, said Saturday afternoon that she was in moderate condition after the surgery.

Speaking with Israel’s Kan public broadcaster, Levine’s daughter expressed concern the injury to her finger may “end her career” as a photojournalist and described the wounds as “life changing.”

“She feels betrayed. It’s difficult for us to see her in this situation, after dozens of years in which she covered wars and conflicts around the world,” Milner added.

Milner also decried “the slander on social media, where people are claiming that she’s a leftist and deserves what happened to her. My mom just showed up to do her job as a journalist.”

US politicians condemn ‘unconscionable’ attack

The attack on Levine was denounced by President Isaac Herzog, whose office said he spoke with her on Saturday.

“I strongly denounce this appalling and shocking phenomenon of violence, both the terrible attack you underwent and additional severe cases like what happened today in Taybeh,” Herzog’s office quoted him as telling Levine. “The despicable conduct of these criminals does not represent the citizens or values of the State of Israel.”

He also called for law enforcement “to act with an Iran hand against any manifestation of violence.”

The assault was also widely condemned by numerous Democratic lawmakers, with US Representative Jamie Raskin of Maryland calling it “unconscionable and a moment of reckoning for the world.”

“Are we going to tolerate accelerating vigilante violence against Palestinian civilians and foreign observers by right-wing vigilantes who operate with government protection?” Raskin asked on X.

“Reports that this was a coordinated attack are incredibly concerning, as are reports that IDF soldiers did not intervene,” said New Jersey Senator Any Kim. “I will continue to call for an investigation and accountability.”

“She said attackers picked her up, then threw her down again and kept kicking,” wrote progressive California Representative Ro Khanna, who said he was detained by armed settlers in the West Bank earlier this year. Khanna charged that settlers “operate with impunity,” adding: “We need to cut off aid to Israel that is used to fund settler activity, and stop the sales of these weapons.”

“This must be a wakeup call,” Texas Representative Joaquin Castro, another Democrat, wrote on X. “Attacks like this one pave the way for the violent land grabs taking place throughout the West Bank and push us further away from peace.”

Also condemning the attack was Israeli Ambassador to the US Yechiel Leiter, who told CNN late Friday that those carrying out violence in the West Bank must be held accountable for their actions.

“Those perpetrating the violence have to be brought to justice,” Leiter said, adding that if Israel “has not yet reached a passing grade on bringing Jewish vigilantes to justice then we’ve got to do a better job, and I’m convinced that we are going to do it.”

Leiter said he has heard in government meetings Prime Minster Benjamin Netanyahu speaking “emphatically about putting a stop to this.”

The attack on Abu Falah was one of several assaults on Palestinian villages across the West Bank on Friday, with perpetrators setting fire to cars and trees and beating residents.

Settler violence against Palestinians has soared this year and spiked further in the weeks leading up to Israel’s October 27 election. Critics accuse the government of condoning and even encouraging the violence, which has led to the displacement of dozens of Palestinian families.

Netanyahu has downplayed the near-daily attacks as the work of a small number of delinquents, not from the West Bank, though that assessment has been contradicted by security sources.

The IDF also faces mounting criticism for troops often standing by while attacks unfold, actively participating or failing to prosecute those responsible.