The United States also condemns Israeli settler violence as “despicable terrorism”

(Seoul = Yonhap News) Reporter Lee Ji-heon = As an American photographer and a group of European diplomats were attacked one after another by Israeli settlers in the West Bank of Palestine, diplomatic officials condemned the attack on their country's reporters as a "despicable act of terrorism" and called for a thorough investigation.

On the 17th (local time), U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee announced the news that Washington Post (WP) photojournalist Heidi Levine (64) was seriously injured in an attack by Israeli settlers the day before, and criticized, "The attack on the female photographer was a cowardly act of terrorism committed by masked cowards."

Ambassador Huckabee said Levine was attacked despite her clear status as a U.S. citizen and journalist.

“Those who attacked unarmed journalists should spend years in prison,” he said. “I called for a thorough investigation, arrests, and prosecution to the fullest extent of the law.” Ambassador Huckabee has always supported the construction of Jewish settlements in the West Bank.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio also met with reporters at Joint Base Andrews near Washington, D.C. before leaving for Uzbekistan on the night of the 17th and said about the news of the assault on a WP reporter in the West Bank, "I feel very uncomfortable with that video and what we are seeing."

“President (Donald Trump) has said many times very clearly that he does not want friction or crisis in the West Bank,” he added.

According to a WP report, Levine, a photojournalist for this newspaper, was attacked by masked Israeli settlers in the West Bank on the 16th while wearing a vest with the word "PRESS" written on it.

The newspaper reported that Levine, who was kicked while lying on the ground, was taken to the hospital for treatment with a fractured rib and four vertebrae and serious injuries that exposed finger bones.

A day later, on the 17th, the vehicles of French, Belgian, and Polish diplomats who visited the village of Tybe in the West Bank during the olive harvest season were attacked by people presumed to be Jewish settlers.

Israeli President Yitzhak Herzog said he spoke directly with Levine on the evening of the 17th and said, "I strongly condemn this outrageous and shocking phenomenon of violence that appears in the terrible attack you experienced and in other serious incidents such as what happened in Taybe today."

“The despicable actions of these criminals do not represent the citizens of Israel or the values ​​of Israel,” he said.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu emphasized in an interview with i24 News, "We will not allow certain groups to ignore the law and impose private sanctions," and added, "We have deployed Shin Bet, Israel's domestic intelligence agency, to the scene. We will root out this disaster."

However, he said, "You hear many times that something happened, but when you find out later, it may not be exactly the same as what was first reported."