Washington Post photographer Heidi Levine is beaten and kicked by masked Israeli settlers during West Bank olive harvest attack

Washington Post photographer Heidi Levine was knocked to the ground, kicked repeatedly and robbed of her cameras, phone and passport by masked Israeli settlers while clearly identified as press during a coordinated attack on Palestinian olive farmers near Abu Falah in the West Bank. A local journalist who reached her said: "If she didn't have a helmet — and if she was Palestinian — she could be dead." At least 12 Palestinians were also injured, including four dual American citizens, one beaten with nail-studded sticks.

From her hospital bed, Levine said: 'They just kept kicking me and kicking me — like probably 50 times.'

Around 80 masked settlers, some armed with firearms and gas canisters, descended on the grove; Israeli military vehicles were present but soldiers fired tear gas at the Palestinians, not the attackers.

The UN recorded more than 1,600 settler attacks across the West Bank between January and August alone, with rights groups saying Israeli authorities rarely arrest or charge perpetrators.