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American photojournalist Heidi Levine, who works for The Washington Post, was injured during an attack by Israeli settlers on Palestinians in the occupied West Bank while covering violence surrounding the olive harvest, according to AFP footage.
The incident took place in Turmus Ayya, where Levine was documenting tensions affecting Palestinian olive farmers amid a series of attacks that have disrupted harvesting across the territory.
The attack comes as Palestinian farmers report growing concerns over their safety ahead of Israel's Oct. 27 elections, with some harvesting their crops earlier than usual to avoid confrontations with settlers.
In the West Bank village of Burqa, Palestinian farmer Abdellatif Bazzari said he was afraid to return to his fields after an Oct. 7 confrontation that left him injured and his cousin dead.
According to Bazzari, approximately 15 to 20 Israeli settlers attacked his family while they were picking olives, beating them before Israeli forces arrived. He said soldiers subsequently shot his cousin, Ali Bazzari, and prevented an ambulance from reaching him.
The Israeli military provided a different account, saying troops and border police responded to reports of stones being thrown at an Israeli civilian. It said a commander identified an individual approaching with a suspicious object and shot him, describing the person as a terrorist.
Bazzari said settlers also took agricultural equipment, including ladders, rakes and tarps, leaving his family struggling to complete the harvest.
Olive cultivation accounts for an estimated 15% of the West Bank's agricultural GDP and remains an important source of income for Palestinian families.
According to the United Nations, settler attacks against Palestinians, including physical assaults, vandalism and arson, averaged six incidents per day during the first half of the year.
Mahmoud Fatafta, an official at the Palestinian Authority's Agriculture Ministry, said authorities had documented 300 incidents involving settlers and olive farming this autumn, even before the official harvest season began on Oct. 15.
Israeli human rights organization Yesh Din also reported 100 cases of theft involving harvested olives or crops taken directly from Palestinian fields. Its findings indicated that Israeli military personnel were present during approximately a quarter of the recorded incidents.
Palestinian farmers and officials expressed concern that violence could intensify ahead of the Oct. 27 elections, arguing that political competition could discourage Israeli authorities from taking action against settlers.
More than 500,000 Israeli settlers live in the occupied West Bank, where settlements and outposts are considered illegal under international law.
The latest incident involving Levine follows another attack last week in which Israeli settlers beat an AFP photographer documenting the olive harvest, fracturing his ribs and stealing his camera.
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