The attack in Abu Falah, northeast of Ramallah, was part of a wider wave of settler violence targeting Palestinian communities during the annual olive harvest, with reports of arson, assaults and destruction of Palestinian property in several areas.
Levine, a 64-year-old American freelance photojournalist, was taken to hospital after masked settlers beat her, despite her wearing a protective vest clearly marked “PRESS.”
Witnesses said the attackers threw stones, used slingshots, set olive trees on fire and stole Levine’s cameras and phone.
“We looked and saw that there was a journalist … on the ground with people surrounding her, beating her, clubbing her, robbing her, pulling her up, beating her again and kicking her,” independent journalist Jasper Nathaniel, who witnessed the assault, told Al Jazeera.
Levine later said her attackers “just kept kicking me and kicking me, like probably 50 times”.
Nathaniel said Israeli soldiers arrived after the assault and opened fire and used tear gas against Palestinians, shooting a man in the leg.
“They do nothing to stop the settlers, and they speed into town and start firing their guns and tear-gassing, and they shoot a Palestinian man in the leg,” he said.
He added that soldiers pointed their weapons at paramedics treating the wounded man and shoved journalists at the scene.
Meanwhile, The Washington Post condemned the assault.
“We are outraged by this unwarranted attack on a journalist doing her job and urge a thorough investigation and follow-through from authorities,” executive editor Matt Murray said.
US lawmakers also demanded accountability.
Senator Chris Van Hollen condemned the “repeated violence and brazen impunity for attacks” against Americans and Palestinians, asking when President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio would act.
Congressman Ro Khanna called for an end to US assistance used to support settler activity, saying: “We need to cut off aid to Israel that is used to fund settler activity, and stop the sales of these weapons.”
Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro said the attack highlighted the violence Palestinian families face when there are no witnesses.
Elsewhere in the occupied West Bank, four Palestinians were reportedly injured in a settler attack on olive pickers in Burqa, east of Ramallah, while settlers in Turmus Aya assaulted farmers and burned vehicles and olive trees.
The latest attacks follow the killing of 44-year-old Ali Hassan Yasser al-Bazzari during an assault on olive harvesters near Burqa on October 7.
On October 6, armed settlers also beat Palestinian AFP photographer Jaafar Ashtiyeh near Aqraba, south of Nablus, leaving him with head and torso injuries.
The violence has intensified during the olive harvest, a vital source of income for Palestinian families whose access to their land is increasingly threatened by settler attacks and the destruction and theft of crops.
According to Reuters, the Israeli rights group Yesh Din has documented at least 170 settler pogroms since September 27.
Al Jazeera correspondent Tareq Abu Azzoum reported that attacks have also targeted Palestinian homes and vehicles, contributing to an atmosphere of intimidation and raising concerns that Palestinians are being pressured to leave their communities to make way for Israeli settlements.
The escalating violence comes as Palestinians continue to face the consequences of Israel’s occupation and the genocide in Gaza, while settler attacks across the West Bank threaten livelihoods, land ownership and the safety of civilians.