Huckabee's demand for arrest and prosecution

Huckabee, a rightwing ally of Donald Trump, posted on X on Saturday that Levine had suffered a "vicious and cowardly attack". He noted that she was a US citizen who had been clearly identifiable as a journalist, and called for a full investigation along with arrest and prosecution to the fullest extent of the law.

What Levine says happened

The Washington Post photographer, 63, who lives in Israel and has won awards for her work, was hurt last Friday when masked Israeli settlers wielding clubs and other weapons fell on Palestinians attempting to harvest their olives in towns across the occupied West Bank.

In her own account, the beating lasted more than 10 minutes, and the settlers took her camera, passport and phone. She said her protective equipment absorbed much of the assault.

The attack ended, she said, when her Palestinian colleagues intervened to save her. She is now in a hospital in Petah Tikva near Tel Aviv recovering from hand surgery, broken ribs and other injuries.

Israeli reactions split

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued a condemnation of "violence against anyone", but referred to the attack as "alleged" and said its circumstances remain unclear.

President Isaac Herzog took a different tone, telephoning Levine in hospital on Saturday and calling the attack "outrageous and shocking", saying it was weighing on his conscience.

Gadi Eisenkot, Netanyahu's main election rival, went further still, describing the attacks as "Jewish terrorism, under the auspices of the Israeli government" and saying the violence was "burning away the little legitimacy the state of Israel still possesses".

Settlers attack European diplomats

On Saturday, settlers attacked European diplomats, a French mayor and the archbishop of Cambrai as they visited the occupied West Bank. The delegation had joined the olive harvest on lands belonging to the Christian town of Taybeh, alongside the French consul general in Jerusalem, his wife, and the Belgian and Polish consuls.

Bernard Baudoux, the mayor of Aulnoye-Aymeries, was assaulted and knocked to the ground as he entered a vehicle with diplomatic plates, while a witness said a masked militant shouted "Vive la France!" as he launched the attack. Baudoux's wife and archbishop Vincent Dollmann were also threatened by a group of seven men, some armed with clubs.

Official reactions to the two assaults include:

• •French foreign minister Jean-Noël Barrot called on Israel to "urgently halt criminal violence" and to arrest those responsible for attacking Baudoux.
• •Israel's foreign ministry condemned the attack on the diplomats, and Israeli police promised to open an investigation.
• •The EU urged "full accountability as well as effective measures to prevent continued acts of violence", alongside protection for journalists.
• •European Commission executive vice-president Teresa Ribera posted an interview with Levine in hospital captioned: "They want no witnesses."

Violence has been surging ahead of bitterly fought Israeli elections on 27 October, with the Palestinian olive harvest repeatedly disrupted as Netanyahu seeks to shore up his pro-settlement base. Trump, meanwhile, endorsed Netanyahu for re-election on Truth Social on Sunday, hailing him as "a Great Warrior Prime Minister, and an even greater Partner for Peace".

The Washington Post has reiterated its call for a full and transparent investigation into the attack on Levine, Huckabee has demanded the arrest and prosecution of the attackers, and Israeli police have promised to open an investigation.