Rubio Says US Has Asked Israel to Crack Down on Settler Violence After Beating of Washington Post Photographer

Since masked settlers beat Washington Post photographer Heidi Levine on Friday, Oct. 16, the story has moved from the West Bank to the top of the US-Israel agenda. On Saturday, Oct. 17, the Trump administration put its position on the record.

Speaking to reporters at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland before boarding a flight to Uzbekistan, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said: "We're all very disturbed by those images and what we're seeing. We've asked the Israelis and continue to ask them to crack down on that stuff."

Rubio said the State Department has asked about the circumstances of the attack. He expects an update from the US Embassy in Jerusalem by Sunday.

What Rubio did and did not know

Rubio acknowledged that he did not have the full picture. He said he was working from media reports while waiting for an embassy cable. "From what I understand about media reports, it didn't look good," he said. "The whole thing was just disturbing. Not a good look."

He tied the request to President Donald Trump's priorities rather than to a legal or human-rights argument. "The President's been very clear. He does not want to see friction or anything, a crisis going on in the West Bank," Rubio said. He added: "We don't need that right now; Israel doesn't need that right now."

The administration, Rubio said, has raised the issue with Israeli authorities more than once.

The attack on Levine

Levine, an American citizen, was among two people wounded in an attack by Israeli settlers near Abu Falah in the occupied West Bank on Friday. She was wearing a protective vest marked as press. The Washington Post said the markings were visible.

Levine told reporters the attackers beat her, knocked her down and kept kicking her, "probably about 50 times." She said she "probably wouldn't even be here" without her flak jacket and helmet. Eyewitness accounts cited in press reports say the attackers took her passport, phone and equipment.

Descriptions of her condition differ. Ynet reported she was moderately injured and had surgery in Israel. Huckabee said she "suffered serious injuries."

Huckabee, the US ambassador to Israel, wrote on X that those who attacked an "unarmed reporter should spend years in prison." He called the assault "a despicable act of terror carried out by masked cowards" and said the US has called for a full investigation, arrest and prosecution. He said the identities of the attackers were still "under investigation."

Israeli response

Herzog phoned Levine on Saturday and apologized. "I express deep sorrow and apologize for what you went through," he told her. He said the perpetrators "do not represent the citizens or the values of the State of Israel" and urged all branches of government and law enforcement to "bring them to justice."

Foreign Minister Gideon Saar called the perpetrators Israeli rioters. On the separate diplomats' incident, he suggested the delegation should have coordinated its visit with the Israeli military. That is Saar's position on how the visit was handled. Belgium's foreign minister rejected the premise that the burden falls on visitors: "As the occupying power, Israeli authorities must protect Palestinians, ensure the safety of diplomats and journalists, and bring those responsible to justice."

A second attack, and a pattern

On Saturday, masked assailants struck a delegation of European diplomats from France, Belgium and Poland in Taybeh, a Palestinian Christian village, during the olive harvest. Belgian Foreign Minister Maxime Prevot said the attacks also targeted Palestinian civilians. Bernard Baudoux, mayor of Aulnoye-Aymeries in northern France, said he was "violently attacked" while harvesting olives in solidarity with villagers. A window of a Belgian consulate vehicle was smashed.

Palestinian Vice-President Hussein al-Sheikh called the attacks a small example of the "daily terrorism" Palestinians face.

The Israeli monitoring group Yesh Din counts at least 170 settler attacks on Palestinians since Sept. 27, around the start of the olive harvest. That figure is the group's own tally, and the Israeli government has not endorsed it.

What comes next

The embassy cable Rubio is waiting on is due today. It should establish what US officials know about who attacked Levine and what Israeli police have done. So far, no one quoted has announced an arrest. Huckabee's demand for "years in prison" and Herzog's call for prosecution now sit against that open record.