Israeli police said on Monday that they had arrested 10 suspects over a wave of settler attacks in the occupied West Bank across the weekend. The attacks included assaults on a United States photojournalist and on European diplomats.
The suspects were detained early on Monday on suspicion of violence, breaching a closed military zone order and illegal construction, police said. They did not release the suspects’ names, but Israel’s Army Radio said all of them are Israeli citizens.
Arrests come as olive harvest attacks mount
The detentions coincide with a rise in settler attacks that have disrupted the annual Palestinian olive harvest in the occupied West Bank. Rising violence against Palestinians has drawn wide international criticism. The United Kingdom has called it “ethnic cleansing” and imposed sanctions on products from illegal Israeli settlements.
US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee welcomed the arrests in a post on X on Monday. He framed them as a step toward punishing those who attacked Washington Post photojournalist Heidi Levine.
Photojournalist and diplomats hurt in separate attacks
Levine was beaten on Friday by a group of male settlers in the village of Abu Falah in the occupied West Bank. She suffered several broken ribs and vertebrae, and underwent surgery on a finger that was nearly severed. She is also recovering from what appeared to be stab wounds to her lower body, which required stitches.
A day later, masked settlers attacked European diplomats visiting the Christian village of Taybeh. France, Belgium and Poland, whose delegates were targeted, called on Israel to take action.
Officials differ on blame for the attacks
Foreign Minister Gideon Saar and the military blamed “Israeli rioters” for the attack on the diplomats. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was less direct. He said the diplomats entered a sensitive area with a history of confrontations without coordinating with the military, and described the facts of the Abu Falah attack as unclear.
Levine said she was shocked and insulted by Netanyahu’s comments. His religious coalition is projected to lose its governing majority at the October 27 election. Rights groups say perpetrators of settler violence are rarely arrested or punished for their attacks on Palestinians.
