Rubio Urges Israel to Curb West Bank Settler Attacks after US Photojournalist Injured

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio speaks during a meeting with Dinorah Figuera, president of the 2015-elected Venezuelan National Assembly, recognized by the US as the country's last democratically elected legislature, at the State Department in Washington, D.C., US, October 9, 2026. REUTERS/Eric Lee

WASHINGTON, October 19 (Saudi Arabia Breaking News) - U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio urged Israel to do more to deter settler attacks in the occupied West Bank after American photojournalist Heidi Levine was injured while settlers attacked Palestinian civilians.

“We’re very disturbed by those images and what we’re seeing,” Rubio told reporters on Saturday before boarding a flight to Uzbekistan.

He said Washington had repeatedly asked Israel to crack down on the violence.

Levine, a photojournalist with The Washington Post, was among at least two people injured in Friday’s incident. Video showing several people attacking her circulated widely.

Rubio said the State Department had sought information about the incident and expected a response from the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem by Sunday.

European diplomats and a French mayor were also attacked in the occupied West Bank, according to Belgium’s foreign minister.

Israeli settlers have carried out at least 170 attacks on Palestinians since September 17, around the start of the annual olive harvest, according to Israeli monitoring group Yesh Din.

Source: Reuters.