Israeli settlers attack US photographer Heidi Levine covering West Bank violence

Israeli settlers on Friday beat Heidi Levine, an American photojournalist working for The Washington Post, in the occupied West Bank. She was covering ongoing violence against Palestinian olive farmers and was taken to hospital in Ramallah with injuries to her leg and hand.

What happened to photographer Heidi Levine in the West Bank?

Levine, a veteran photographer, was attacked by masked Israeli settlers while working near the Palestinian villages of Abu Falah and Turmus Ayya in the central West Bank. AFP photos showed her lying on a gurney in hospital.

Speaking to journalists from her hospital bed, Levine said "more than 50" masked settlers holding sticks suddenly attacked her. "All of a sudden they jumped me and I luckily had my helmet and flak jacket on and I... kept my face to the ground to try to protect my face," she said.

"They just kept kicking me and kicking me," she added. The Washington Post reported that she had been wearing a flak jacket with "Press" clearly marked on the front and back.

How have the US, Israel and witnesses responded to the attack?

A spokesman for the US embassy in Jerusalem said it was aware of reports of the attack. He declined to comment further due to privacy laws. "We have no higher responsibility than protecting American citizens," he said.

AFP did not witness the moment of the attack. One of its journalists in the area saw Palestinian medics tending to someone on the ground and Israeli soldiers pushing away journalists trying to approach.

The Israeli military said troops and border police were deployed "following a report of a violent confrontation." It said a female journalist had been injured, that the circumstances would be examined, and that "attacks and violence against innocent civilians are grave and unacceptable acts."

The Israeli police said they had opened an investigation into incidents in Abu Falah and Turmus Ayya. "We were on our land, picking olives, and suddenly the settlers came down on us and started hitting us, throwing stones," said Mukhllis Zuhdi, a farmer from Abu Falah.

"There was even a foreign journalist whom they beat. These people have no mercy or compassion in their hearts," he told AFP.

Have Israeli settlers attacked other journalists in the West Bank?

The incident comes 10 days after settlers beat AFP photographer Jaafar Ashtiyeh while he covered the West Bank olive harvest. He also required hospital treatment.

The Foreign Press Association, which represents international media in Israel and the Palestinian territories, said the settlers stole Levine's passport, phone, wallet and equipment. "This is the latest in a long line of violent attacks by Israeli settlers against journalists and other civilians in the occupied West Bank," it said.

"Yet our repeated calls for action to confront this lawlessness have been ignored by Israeli authorities," the association added.

Reporters Without Borders (RSF) strongly condemned the attack and called on Israeli authorities to "put an end to this impunity and prosecute the perpetrators of this heinous assault." RSF said: "This brazen violence... is evidence of the impunity with which extremist Jewish settlers operate, often under the protection of Israeli armed forces."

Who are the Israeli settlers and are the settlements illegal?

Violence has flared in recent months in the West Bank, with near-daily attacks, thefts or vandalism by Israeli settlers against Palestinians. Settlers have also been seizing olive groves owned by Palestinians, who see the trees as a cultural symbol.

Excluding east Jerusalem, around three million Palestinians live in the West Bank, which Israel has occupied since 1967. More than 500,000 Israelis live there in settlements considered illegal under international law.