US ambassador urges Israel to prosecute settlers for violence

Detailed summary

The US ambassador to Israel on Saturday called for the prosecution of settlers who attacked a photojournalist from The Washington Post. Ambassador Mike Huckabee described the attack on X as "a despicable act of terror committed by masked cowards". European diplomats were also attacked, on Saturday.

The US newspaper had shared footage of the attack earlier this week, showing dozens of masked Israeli settlers assaulting Palestinians as they harvested olives in the occupied West Bank. The American photographer Heidi Levine was also attacked. According to Huckabee, she suffered serious injuries in the "vile and cowardly attack".

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio told journalists that the US was "deeply disturbed by those images". "We have called on the Israelis, and will continue to do so, to take strong action."

Israeli President Isaac Herzog contacted Levine on Saturday. He described the violence as "outrageous and shocking".

Masked settlers also attacked Palestinians, the Belgian consul-general, French and Polish diplomats, and Catholic representatives in the occupied West Bank on Saturday. Foreign minister Maxime Prévot (Les Engagés) condemned the violence "in the strongest terms". He called on the Israeli authorities to bring those responsible to justice and said Belgium would continue to press for European sanctions against violent settlers and those who support them.

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