Israeli settlers attack Palestinians, American journalist during West Bank olive harvest
Israeli army says incident in Abu Falah 'will be examined'
asserted
incident → attack → Falah
Dozens of masked Israeli settlers have attacked Palestinians and injured an American journalist during olive harvesting in the occupied West Bank, according to witnesses and video footage from the incident.
uncertain
Dozens → attack → incident
About 80 settlers descended from a hill toward Palestinians who were collecting olives on Friday in Abu Falah, a Palestinian village about 25 kilometres northeast of Ramallah, Reuters reported.
asserted
Reuters → descend → Ramallah
Videos from the scene showed some of the settlers using slingshots to launch stones toward the Palestinians.
asserted
some → show → Palestinians
Photos also showed olive trees burning next to a large group of settlers.
asserted
trees → show → settlers
Reuters said at least two Israeli military jeeps sped through the area partway through the attack, which continued after the army's arrival.
asserted
which → say → arrival
Israeli soldiers also fired tear gas in the direction of Palestinians who had dodged the jeeps, the news agency added.
asserted
agency → fire → jeeps
Some Palestinians threw stones to defend themselves during the attack.
asserted
Palestinians → throw → attack
An Israeli settler casts a projectile toward Palestinians in Abu Falah.
asserted
settler → cast → Falah
Caught up in the attack was Washington Post photojournalist Heidi Levine, who was reporting in the village, the U.S. newspaper said.
asserted
newspaper → catch → village
The Post reported she was knocked to the ground, repeatedly kicked and stripped of her cameras and phone.
asserted
she → report → cameras
Video footage showed Levine — who was wearing a helmet and vest marked "press" — lying on her side on a dirt path, with her hands over her face as at least three settlers surrounded her.
asserted
settlers → show → her
"She was wearing visible markings clearly identifying her as a journalist," Matt Murray, the Post's executive director, said in a written statement Friday morning.
"While we are relieved that Heidi has received medical care and is safe, we are outraged by this unwarranted attack on a journalist doing her job and urge a thorough investigation and follow-through from authorities."
Speaking to reporters from a Ramallah hospital bed, a visibly shaken Levine said she was "brutally attacked.
asserted
she → wear → bed
"
"I was attacked, pushed to the ground.
asserted
I → attack → ground
Luckily I had my flak jacket and my helmet, otherwise I probably wouldn't even be here, because they just kept kicking me and kicking me," she said.
asserted
she → have → me
Washington Post photojournalist Heidi Levine says Israeli settlers 'kept kicking and kicking' her during the attack in Abu Falah.
asserted
settlers → say → Falah
'Incident will be examined,' Israeli army says
The Israeli military said in a written statement on social media that troops and Israel Border Police were dispatched to an area near Abu Falah "following a report of a violent confrontation."
asserted
troops → examine → confrontation
"All details of the incident will be examined.
asserted
details → examine → incident
Upon arriving to the scene, the forces acted to disperse the confrontation using riot dispersal means," the army said.
asserted
army → arrive → means
It also said that at another location where confrontations were taking place, soldiers fired "toward a suspect who ran toward them, carrying a sharp object and posed a threat to them."
asserted
who → say → them
The statement didn't provide additional information about that suspect.
asserted
statement → provide → suspect
"Violence against innocent civilians is a grave and intolerable phenomenon that requires a co-ordinated, multi-agency response," it said, adding that it would work "to eradicate this phenomenon."
asserted
it → require → phenomenon
Palestinians and an Israeli military vehicle are seen near a fire in the West Bank village of Abu Falah on Friday.
asserted
Palestinians → see → Friday
Wave of settler violence
Friday's incident comes amid escalating Israeli settler violence against Palestinians across the West Bank.
asserted
incident → come → Bank
Earlier this week, the United Nations humanitarian office (OCHA) said nearly 200 settler attacks linked to this year's olive harvest — an annual event that holds historical and cultural significance for Palestinians — have led to casualties or property damage so far.
asserted
that → say → casualties
"That is more than the 185 incidents recorded during the entire 2025 season," it said.
asserted
it → record → season
Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories are illegal under international law, which states that an occupying power cannot transfer its civilian population into the territory that it occupies.
asserted
it → state → that
Palestinians walk in Abu Falah after the olive harvest was disrupted by an Israeli settler attack on Friday.
asserted
harvest → walk → Friday
Israel rejects that, calling the areas "disputed," and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government has overseen a rapid expansion of the settlements.
asserted
government → reject → settlements
In late September, Netanyahu condemned "violent riots" by settlers after a wave of attacks on Palestinians in the village of Qusra.
asserted
Netanyahu → condemn → Qusra
"The handful of rioters are not representative of the law-abiding settler public," he said in a written statement.
asserted
he → abide → statement
Human rights groups have accused the Israeli government of facilitating settler violence as part of an effort to displace Palestinians.
asserted
groups → accuse → Palestinians
The Aporia
