American photographer attacked by Israeli settlers feels 'insulted' by Netanyahu's response

The photographer with The Washington Post who was attacked by Jewish settlers in the Israeli-occupied West Bank so badly that several vertebrae were broken said Sunday she was increasingly angry that Israel's military seems to protect settlers more than the Palestinians they threaten.

The attack on Heidi Levine and Palestinians during the sensitive olive harvest - followed a day later by an attack on European diplomats in a Christian village - again highlights the rampant settler violence that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has blamed on a small number of troublemakers.


Levine, from her hospital bed, has told The Associated Press she was  shocked and insulted  that Netanyahu referred to the attack on her and others as alleged, adding that the prime minister  had all the evidence on the table. 

But she described the sharp condemnation of settler violence expressed to her in a call from Israel's president, and in a letter signed by several of the country's top former security and intelligence officials. All expressed shame over the attack.

Netanyahu, two weeks out from close elections that could end his time in power, is again confronted with an issue that has drawn growing international condemnation. Most of the world, under international law, considers the settlements in the West Bank illegal, and yet construction and expansion continue.

Hundreds of Palestinians have been attacked and multiple have been killed this olive harvest alone, which started in late September, rights groups have said. Olive trees, a central part of history and heritage and source of income for Palestinians, are regularly destroyed by Israeli settlers.

Levine blamed  Jewish terrorists  for Thursday's attack and added:  I've been covering this region for over 40 years, and I have never seen this country in such a state as it is today. 

Levine praises a call from Israel's president

Levine was recovering Sunday from injuries that included what appeared to be stab wounds in her buttocks, which required
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