US ambassador urges Israel to prosecute attackers of American journalist

Trump-appointed Ambassador Mike Huckabee calls attack in occupied West Bank a ‘despicable act of terror’.United States Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee has demanded Israel prosecute and jail those responsible for the attack on Washington Post journalist Heidi Levine in the occupied West Bank.“Attacking a female photographer is a despicable act of terror carried out by masked cowards,” Huckabee wrote on X on Saturday.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3Settlers set fire to mosque in West Bank as Israeli forces raid villageslist 2 of 3Israeli plan to reopen settler ‘Route 463’ threatens to isolate Ramallahlist 3 of 3Palestine weekly: Gaza marks year of ‘ceasefire’ with more Israeli killingend of list“Those who attacked unarmed reporter should spend YRS in prison,” he added. “We have called for a full investigation, arrest, and prosecution to the fullest extent of the law to whoever participated in this.”Levine was covering Palestinians’ annual harvest of olives on Friday in the occupied West Bank when Israeli settlers brutally attacked her and several Palestinians.Israeli settlers stormed the area, beat her and stole her passport, telephone, wallet and equipment, according to witnesses.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”, Levine said.Jasper Nathaniel, an independent journalist who witnessed the attack, told Al Jazeera that Levine “was in very, very bad shape. She couldn’t really get up off the ground.”American freelance photojournalist Heidi Levine lies on a gurney in the emergency room of the government hospital in Ramallah, a city in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, on October 16, 2026 [AFP]Levine, 64, was taken to hospital after the assault in Abu Falah, northeast of Ramallah.The American photojournalist underwent surgery on her finger, which was nearly detached from her hand, and was left with a broken rib and multiple broken vertebrae, as well as lacerations, her daughter told The Associated Press news agency.