Washington Post photographer after surgery: The soldiers did not intervene to protect me, and Netanyahu chooses to question my story

Tel Aviv - Ofoq News - Washington Post photojournalist Heidi Levin said that she was violently assaulted by settlers during the olive harvest in the village of Abu Falah, northeast of Ramallah. She confirmed that the occupation soldiers witnessed the assault and did not intervene to protect her. She criticized the position of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who she said chose to cast doubt on the credibility of her story.

Today, Saturday, Levine underwent surgery at Beilinson Hospital, after she was injured during the attack that occurred on Friday during the olive harvest season in the Ramallah area in the West Bank.

Her condition was described as moderate, while medical information indicated that she was suffering from injuries to her limbs.

She said in an interview with the Walla website that she was also injured in the back and ribs, and that the assault continued for a long time, during which her cameras, equipment, and personal belongings were stolen.

She added that about 15 settlers attacked her after they realized that she was alone, explaining: “They threw me to the ground and kicked me repeatedly, while they were stealing everything from me,” noting that they seized her cameras, photography equipment, personal documents, and jewelry.

Levin explained that she returned a few days ago to cover the war in Ukraine, and stopped in Poland on her way to Israel to meet her son.

She said that her son told her at the time that he feared for her safety because of her work in the West Bank more than her coverage of the war in Ukraine, before this fear was realized during the attack on her.

According to her account, there was a balance between the parties before the occupation forces arrived, but the soldiers fired tear gas towards the journalists and Palestinians upon their arrival, which led to those present dispersing and leaving her alone.

“At that moment they realized I was alone and decided to attack me,” she said.

Levin accused the occupation soldiers of watching the attack without intervening to stop it or remove the attackers from her, asking: “15 people beat a woman, why didn’t they help me? Do they care where the woman came from? Is she from Poland or an American, so that they understand that she must be saved?”

Following the attack, Levine received treatment at Ramallah Hospital, then was transferred by a Palestinian ambulance to the checkpoint, and from there to an Israeli ambulance that transported her to Beilinson Hospital.

She said that soldiers interrogated her during the transfer, and described the treatment she received as "somewhat disgusting."

On Saturday morning, Levine underwent surgery on her left hand, after doctors needed to stitch several deep wounds.

She added that she suffered fractures in four vertebrae in the spine and in one of the back ribs, despite wearing a protective jacket and helmet during the attack.

Her son, Michael, told the Walla website that his mother was subjected to what he described as a “terrifying group assault on a woman, regardless of politics,” noting that recovery from her back injury could take weeks.

He added that this is not the first time his mother has been attacked while working, as he said that her car was burned in a previous incident, overturned in another incident, and a settler punched her in a separate incident, considering that these incidents did not receive the necessary treatment.

Netanyahu had said, on Friday, that those responsible for the attack would be held accountable, but he wrote in a post on the “X” platform that many of the facts had not yet become clear, and he reported a story indicating that a confrontation had taken place between about 200 Arabs and left-wing activists on the one hand, and 40 young Israelis on the other hand, saying that the investigation must determine the party that started the violence.

Levin expressed her disappointment with Netanyahu's position, saying that she felt that he questioned the credibility of her story, and demanded an in-depth investigation and the implementation of arrests, calling for an end to allowing the aggressors to continue their actions without accountability.

She also strongly rejected the claim of the Yesha Settlements Council that an Israeli young man helped her during the attack, and said: “This is a blatant lie,” adding that the video clip that was shown to support the council’s story was cut in a way that did not reflect the assault that she described.

In a related context, hundreds of former officials in the security services, police, and judicial institution, along with academics and businessmen, published a message of support for Levin, expressing their solidarity with her, their concern for her safety, and their wishes for her speedy recovery.

Among the signatories are former Chief of Staff and Defense Minister Moshe Ya'alon, former Mossad chief Tamir Pardo, former head of the General Security Service Ami Ayalon, and former Police Commissioner Moshe Karadi.

Levin said that her son spoke with the US Deputy Secretary of State, who informed him that the United States would continue to press for an in-depth investigation, and that it expected arrests to be made.

Levin stressed that her demand now, while she was in the hospital bed, is that the attack not end once a conviction is issued, but rather that the investigation lead to holding those responsible accountable.