Israel must probe West Bank attack on journalist, US envoy says

María Paula Mijares Torres, Bloomberg News on Oct 17, 2026

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U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee condemned the beating of a Washington Post journalist while working in the West Bank and demanded a “full investigation, arrest and prosecution” of the attackers.

Heidi Levine, a U.S. citizen, was attacked Friday morning by Israeli settlers, according to Washington Post Executive Editor Matt Murray. In a separate incident Saturday, a group of diplomats was attacked by settlers in the West Bank, according to several European governments.

“Attacking a female photographer is despicable act of terror carried out by masked cowards,” Huckabee said in a social media post Saturday. “Dishonorable act of senseless violence.”

Israel has put out mixed messages on the incidents. The Israel Defense Forces called the violence intolerable and said the attacks would be investigated but noted that the diplomats’ visit wasn’t coordinated with security officials. Israeli President Isaac Herzog called Levine to apologize for the attack and urged a probe, while Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said the circumstances remain unclear and require more evidence.

Settler violence has been on the rise recently in the West Bank. The U.K., France, Canada and others announced measures last month imposing sanctions on Israeli settlements, which the U.S. said it wasn’t going to join. In August, settlers besieged the home of an American citizen in the West Bank.

In Saturday’s incident, a group of European diplomats were attacked and preliminary evidence indicated that Israeli settlers were responsible, Poland’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a social media post. The Polish diplomats inside the diplomatic convoy were unharmed and there was no indication they were specifically targeted, the ministry added.

The mayor of a French town was also assaulted “by extremist settlers” in Saturday’s attack, according to French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot, who said Israeli authorities needed to stop these acts of violence.

Netanyahu’s office cautioned against assigning responsibility before the investigation is complete, saying available footage does not establish the full sequence of events. It also stressed the lack of prior coordination with the IDF and warned against using the incident to broadly condemn Jewish residents of the West Bank.

“We expect the Israeli authorities to provide urgent and detailed explanations, identify those responsible and ensure that they are held accountable,” Poland’s foreign affairs ministry said. “We also expect effective measures to be taken to prevent similar incidents from occurring in the future.”