U.S. Representative Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) condemned Friday’s violent attack on an American photojournalist by masked Israeli settlers in the West Bank, and used the incident to draw attention to the Palestinian families who were being attacked when the journalist tried to document the violence.
“The farmers in the grove had no flak jackets and no helmets,” DeLauro wrote in a statement. “They had no major American newspaper behind them.”
The congresswoman added: “If the settlers will do this to an American journalist on camera, in broad daylight, imagine what Palestinian families face when no one is watching.”
The journalist, Washington Post photographer Heidi Levine, was covering Palestinian families harvesting olives near the village of Abu Falah when dozens of masked settlers attacked the farmers and journalists. Attackers threw rocks and set olive trees on fire.
Levine, who was wearing protective equipment identifying her as a journalist, was thrown to the ground and repeatedly kicked. She suffered four broken vertebrae, a broken rib and extensive cuts, according to The Washington Post.
“I was attacked, pushed to the ground,” Levine said from her hospital bed. “Luckily I had my flak jacket and helmet, otherwise I probably wouldn’t even be here, because they just kept kicking me and kicking me.”
U.S. Representative Jamie Raskin (D-MD) called the attack “unconscionable and a moment of reckoning for the world.”
He asked whether the international community would tolerate vigilante violence against Palestinian civilians and foreign observers by attackers operating, as he alleged, with government protection.
Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA) also condemned the attack.
“We need to cut off aid to Israel that is used to fund settler activity, and stop the sales of these weapons,” Khanna wrote on X.
Israeli settlers beat Washington Post photographer Heidi Levine. She said attackers picked her up, then threw her down again and kept kicking.
They operate with impunity. We need to cut off aid to Israel that is used to fund settler activity, and stop the sales of these weapons.
— Ro Khanna (@RoKhanna) October 16, 2026
Khanna also had a personal reason to challenge the Israeli government’s response. In July, he and a New York Times photographer were detained by settlers in the West Bank village of Khirbet Zanuta.
Netanyahu’s office condemned Friday’s violence but questioned the circumstances, saying that the facts “remain unclear and are under investigation.”
“The investigation must establish the facts, including who initiated the violence,” Netanyahu’s office said, according to The Times of Israel.
Khanna responded: “Netanyahu called me a liar when settlers detained me, along with a NYT photographer, in Zanuta this past July,” he wrote on X. “Now, he is calling a Washington Post photographer a liar.”
Netanyahu called me a liar when settlers detained me, along with a NYT photographer, in Zanuta this past July.
Now, he is calling a Washington Post photographer a liar.
Netanyahu, you are the liar with the blood of Palestinian children on your hands.
— Ro Khanna (@RoKhanna) October 16, 2026