“Revolutionary Guard”: An oil tanker was hit by a mine in the south of the Strait of Hormuz

Israeli police said on Monday that they had arrested eight suspects as part of an investigation into violent incidents that occurred in the West Bank at the end of last week and the beginning of this week, including attacks on American photojournalist Heidi Levin and European diplomats in two separate incidents.

According to Reuters, the police did not identify the suspects.

The police did not reveal the identity of the suspects who were transferred to detention centers for investigation, nor did they clarify the charges against them. The police said that investigations are still ongoing, according to Reuters.

Prosecution of settlers is a rare occurrence in Israel.

Israeli radio reported that the suspects are Israeli, and that the Internal Security Agency (Shin Bet) is participating in the investigation.

On Friday, masked Israeli settlers were photographed assaulting Heidi Levin, a photojournalist for the Washington Post, who was covering the Palestinian olive harvest. European diplomats and a French mayor were attacked on Saturday by settlers in another incident.

The Washington Post reported that dozens of masked Israeli settlers attacked Palestinian villagers who were picking olives near the village of Abu Falah on Friday. The newspaper said that the settlers set fire to olive groves and threw stones at farmers.

She added that Levine was injured in the attack despite wearing a protective vest with the word “press” clearly marked on the front and back, noting that the American photographer was thrown to the ground and subjected to continuous kicks, and her phone and cameras were seized.

The newspaper also reported that Levine was treated in hospitals in Ramallah and Israel for wounds throughout her body, a broken rib, and four fractures in the vertebrae.

She said Levine needed surgery on her hand after her finger suffered a cut, exposing the bone.

This year, US President Donald Trump expressed his opposition to expanding settlements, but his administration did not exert significant pressure on the right-wing, pro-settlement government of Benjamin Netanyahu to change its policy.

United Nations bodies and most countries in the world consider the settlements illegal under international law, but Israel rejects this, and views the lands in question as “disputed” and not “occupied.”

While Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar and the Israeli army held "Israeli rioters" responsible for the attack on the diplomats, Netanyahu took a more conservative stance. He said that the diplomats entered “a sensitive area that had witnessed previous confrontations, without prior coordination with the Israeli army,” adding that the circumstances of the attack on Levin were “unclear.”

The West Bank includes about 500,000 settlers and at least three million Palestinians.

The Israeli human rights organization Yesh Din reported that settler attacks on Palestinians are witnessing a significant increase, with at least 170 attacks recorded since September 27. Journalists, activists, and foreign observers were also subjected to these attacks. However, Israeli settlers are rarely prosecuted.