Israel Arrests 10 Suspects Over Settler Attacks on US Journalist, European Diplomats in West Bank

Israeli police said on Monday they had arrested 10 suspects in a pre-dawn operation as part of an investigation into violent incidents in the occupied West Bank over the weekend, including separate attacks on a Washington Post photojournalist and a group of European diplomats. The West Bank settler arrests follow a surge of settler violence at the start of the olive harvest season.

FAKTA

• Israeli police arrested 10 suspects in a pre-dawn operation on Monday, October 19.
• The operation was codenamed “Olive Leaf” — an apparent reference to the start of the olive harvest in the West Bank.
• On Friday, dozens of masked settlers, some armed, attacked a Palestinian olive harvest near Abu Falah; veteran Washington Post photojournalist Heidi Levine was beaten and hospitalized, and later needed surgery on a finger.
• On Saturday, settlers attacked a group of European diplomats from France, Belgium and Poland visiting the Palestinian Christian town of Taybeh.
• The suspects were arrested on suspicion of acts of violence, violating a closed military zone order and illegal construction; evidence was seized and several vehicles were confiscated.
• US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee called the arrests “a very positive development in finding & punishing those who severely attacked and beat Heidi Levine.”

West Bank settler arrests follow weekend attacks

According to police, security forces worked with the Israeli military to locate and arrest the suspects across the area where the attacks took place. “During this activity, 10 suspects were arrested, findings linking them to the incidents were seized and several vehicles were confiscated,” police said.

The suspects, whom police did not identify, were taken into custody for questioning. Israel’s Army Radio reported that they were Israeli citizens. A video released by the police of the pre-dawn operation appeared to show two slingshots found at one property — the same kind of weapon settlers used to hurl stones during Friday’s attack on the olive harvest.

Police, military forces and the Shin Bet domestic security service all took part in the operation. Israel Police Superintendent Moshe Pinchi said: “We are working to collect evidence, findings and testimonies and to consolidate an evidentiary infrastructure that will enable bringing those involved to justice.”

US and Europe demanded action

The United States, Israel’s closest ally, had urged a crackdown on settler violence and the arrest of the perpetrators of the attack on the Washington Post photojournalist. France, Belgium and Poland — whose diplomats were attacked — also called on Israel to take action.

The weekend attacks were part of a dramatic rise in settler attacks in the occupied West Bank during the olive harvest season. Prosecutions of Israeli settlers for such attacks remain rare.

On Friday, when the Washington Post journalist was attacked, dozens of masked settlers descended on Palestinians harvesting their olives. Heidi Levine, a veteran freelance photojournalist, was severely beaten and treated at a government hospital in Ramallah. One day later, settlers attacked the entourage of European diplomats visiting Taybeh, where Palestinian Christians were beginning their own olive harvest.

Watan News earlier reported on the settler attack on the olive harvest that injured the photojournalist and the attack on European diplomats near Taybeh.