By SCM International Desk I Saturday, Oct. 17, 2026
JERUSALEM — Heidi Levine, an award-winning American photojournalist, tearfully recounted a violent encounter with a group of Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank, stating that her protective armor likely saved her life as she was repeatedly kicked and beaten while on assignment.
Speaking about the traumatic ordeal, Ms. Levine detailed how an aggressive crowd swarmed and attacked her without provocation.
”They just kept kicking me, about 50 times,” Ms. Levine said, her voice breaking as she described the assault. Wearing heavy tactical equipment during the encounter ultimately prevented fatal injury: “I don’t know if I would be alive today if not for my flak jacket and helmet.”
Ms. Levine, who has decades of experience documenting conflict across the Middle East, expressed profound shock at the severity and hatred displayed by her attackers. “I don’t know how a parent can raise such monsters,” she said. “They’re not even humans. They’re Jewish terrorists.”
The attack on Ms. Levine underscores a documented, sharp escalation in violence by radical Israeli settlers against Palestinian residents, foreign activists, and members of the international press operating in the West Bank.
Human rights organizations and international monitoring bodies have repeatedly warned about the expanding impunity surrounding settler attacks. Journalists documenting land disputes, olive harvests, and home demolitions in rural West Bank villages have increasingly found themselves targeted by armed groups seeking to deter media coverage of the region.
While Israeli military officials routinely state that security forces step in to maintain law and order, human rights groups—including the Israeli organization B’Tselem and international bodies like Human Rights Watch—have frequently criticized the Israeli government and police for failing to prosecute settlers involved in violence against civilians and journalists.
The assault on a high-profile American photojournalist is expected to draw renewed scrutiny from international press freedom advocates and foreign diplomats, who have consistently called on Israeli authorities to hold violent extremist groups accountable and ensure the safety of working journalists in the region.
