Netanyahu casts doubt on reports of settler attack on Washington Post photographer

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has questioned accounts of the settler attack on Washington Post photojournalist Heidi Levine in the occupied West Bank, calling the coverage part of a campaign against Israel, as police arrested 10 suspects.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has cast doubt on reports that Israeli settlers beat Washington Post photojournalist Heidi Levine in the occupied West Bank, describing the coverage as part of a campaign against Israel. In his latest remarks, Netanyahu was quoted as saying: “I think this is a big exaggeration. We are facing a big propaganda campaign.”

Levine, a 63-year-old American photographer, was attacked on Oct. 16 near the village of Abu Falah, northeast of Ramallah, while covering the Palestinian olive harvest. She was wearing a vest marked “Press.” Masked men knocked her to the ground and kicked her, and her cameras and phone were taken.

“The facts must determine the conclusions”

Netanyahu’s office said on the day of the attack that Levine had been “allegedly assaulted” and that the facts “remain unclear and are under investigation.” “The facts must determine the conclusions. Not the headlines,” the statement said. The office also claimed the clash began when about 200 Arabs and far-left activists confronted some 40 Israeli youths.

A day later, the office said the reports came “amid concerns about a coordinated campaign to smear Israel” during the olive harvest, relying on “sensational headlines before the full facts emerge.” In an interview with i24NEWS, Netanyahu said such reports “sometimes turn out to be inaccurate.” Pressed about the video, he replied: “I don’t know. We’re checking it out.”

Photographer: “The biggest insult”

Levine suffered a broken rib, several broken vertebrae and a finger cut to the bone, which required surgery on Oct. 17. She called Netanyahu’s suggestion that a settler had helped her to her feet “such a lie and the biggest insult” and urged him to “take another look at those videos.”

Washington Post executive editor Matt Murray responded directly to the prime minister’s office: “Some facts are neither in dispute nor unclear. Our photographer was clearly marked as Press. She was clearly beaten.”

The West Bank village of Abu Falah, northeast of Ramallah (file photo)

10 suspects arrested

Israeli police, working with the military and the Shin Bet security agency, arrested 10 suspects early Monday over the attack on Levine and an Oct. 17 assault on French, Belgian and Polish diplomats near Taybeh. They are suspected of violence, violating a closed military zone order and illegal construction.

U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee, who had called the beating a “despicable act of terror,” described the arrests as “a very positive development.” Israeli President Isaac Herzog called Levine and said: “The despicable conduct of these criminals does not represent the citizens or values of the State of Israel.” The dispute comes days before Israel’s Oct. 27 election.

Netanyahu casts doubt on reports of settler attack on Washington Post photographer