Heidi Levine recounts how Palestinian youths helped save her in settler attack

US photojournalist describes ‘protective shield’, vows to return to work in West Bank and criticises Netanyahu comments on incident

Heidi Levine recounts how Palestinian youths helped save her in settler attack

TL;DR

  • Heidi Levine, a photojournalist for The Washington Post, was seriously injured in an attack by Israeli settlers in the Palestinian village of Abu Falah.
  • She sustained four fractured vertebrae, two broken ribs, and four puncture wounds during the assault by a crowd of masked settlers.
  • Levine stated that Palestinian youths intervened using slingshots to drive back the settlers, creating a protective shield that allowed her to be rescued.
  • She criticized Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office for casting doubt on witness accounts of the attack.
  • Levine, who has lived in Israel for four decades, expressed her intention to return to reporting on the West Bank as soon as she recovers.
  • Israeli police arrested 10 suspects, but Levine expressed low confidence in their prosecution, noting the rarity of such cases.
  • Levine received an apologetic call from Israeli President Isaac Herzog, who condemned the settlers' actions.