RAMALLAH, October 16, 2026 (WAFA) — The Palestinian Journalists Syndicate condemned the attack by Israeli colonists on American photojournalist Heidi Levine, who works on contract for The Washington Post, in the village of Abu Falah, northeast of Ramallah, under the protection of Israeli occupation forces. The attack injured Levine and led to her transfer to hospital for treatment.
In a statement issued Friday, the syndicate said the attack constituted a new crime targeting journalists while carrying out their professional duties, exposing once again a systematic approach of intimidating media workers and silencing cameras documenting Israeli occupation crimes and colonist violations against the Palestinian people.
The syndicate said that targeting Levine, who has devoted more than four decades of her career to covering wars and conflict zones and documenting events in Palestine, constituted a serious assault on press freedom and the world's right to access the truth, as well as a flagrant violation of the rules guaranteeing journalists' protection during conflicts.
It stressed that the presence of Israeli occupation forces, and their protection of or proximity to those carrying out attacks on journalists, places the Israeli authorities before their legal responsibilities. It warned that impunity must not become a green light for further attacks on local and international media crews.
The syndicate called on the United Nations, international organizations concerned with press freedom and human rights, and American media institutions to take immediate and effective action in response to the attack rather than limiting their response to statements of condemnation and solidarity.
It also urged the US administration and State Department to adopt a clear position and exert serious pressure to ensure accountability for those responsible, and to stop repeated attacks on Palestinian, American and other international journalists and civilians in the occupied Palestinian territories.
The syndicate further called on American and international media organizations to use their professional, legal and political influence to push for a serious investigation, demand accountability, protect journalists and media crews, and pursue those who attack them or incite violence against them.
It urged international institutions to document the attack and include it in records of systematic violations against Palestinian and foreign journalists, while working to ensure that those responsible are not granted impunity.
The syndicate stressed that the attack on Levine was not an isolated incident, but part of an escalating pattern of assaults on journalists covering events in the field, aimed at intimidating them and preventing them from reporting events and revealing the truth.
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