U.S. ambassador to Israel calls for “arrest and prosecution” of Heidi Levine’s West Bank settler attackers

October 18, 2026 / 9:13 AM EDT / CBS/AP

The U.S. ambassador to Israel condemned a settler attack during the olive harvest in the West Bank in which an American journalist was beaten.

In a social media post on Saturday, Ambassador Mike Huckabee called the attack on Washington Post photojournalist Heidi Levine "vicious & cowardly," citing that she is an American citizen and had identified herself as a journalist. Several Palestinians were also injured in Friday's attack.

"Those who attacked unarmed reporter should spend YRS (years) in prison," Huckabee wrote, adding that he had called for a "full investigation, arrest and prosecution" of the assailants.

"Attacking a female photographer is despicable act of terror carried out by masked cowards," he said, "dishonorable act of senseless violence."

Video of the incident obtained by CBS News showed a group of around 20 masked men clad in black or gray clothes descending a hill from the area of an Israeli settlement outpost into an olive grove near the Palestinian village of Abu Falah.

Video shared by the Israel-based Foreign Press Association showed Levine was surrounded by masked men, pushed to the ground and beaten, and her camera equipment taken from her.

In a…

Original source: https://www.cbsnews.com/entertainment/