The American newspaper "Washington Post" has rejected the explanations offered by the Israeli government after the aggression suffered this Friday by its photojournalist Heidi Levine, attacked by a group of settlers in the West Bank while carrying out her reporting work.
After Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu expressed "serious doubts" about what he called a "confrontation," the newspaper's editor-in-chief, Matt Murray, has responded on social media to deny any kind of confusion about what happened to Levine while covering the olive-picking campaign in the West Bank town of Abú Falá.
"To be clear: some facts are not in dispute nor are they ambiguous. Our photographer was clearly identified as press," Murray stated. "She was clearly assaulted. These are not partisan or ridiculous statements, but indisputable. We demand a thorough investigation and accountability," he concluded.
In a video recorded from the hospital, the photojournalist denounced a "brutal" beating inflicted by "at least 50 masked men."
"They attacked me and threw me to the ground. Fortunately, I was wearing my helmet; otherwise, I probably wouldn't even be here, because they kept kicking me, about 50 times, and after about ten minutes they tried to get me to stand up, but then they threw me back to the ground and kept kicking me," she recounted.
The Foreign Press Association has explained that the reporter "suffered moderate injuries and has been treated at a local hospital for bruises and wounds, some penetrating, all over her body," before adding that, in addition, "the settlers stole her passport, phone, wallet, and equipment" during the attack.