West Bank: Israel arrests 10 suspects over settler attacks on US journalist, European diplomats

Israeli police said Monday they had arrested 10 suspects over settler violence in the occupied West Bank, including attacks on a US photojournalist and European diplomats.

Masked settlers were filmed assaulting The Washington Post photographer Heidi Levine on Friday while she was covering a Palestinian olive harvest, leaving her with broken vertebrae.

The following day, settlers attacked a convoy of European diplomats and French mayor Bernard Baudoux, who was visiting the West Bank to help with the harvest.

The incidents drew condemnation from the United States, France, Belgium and Poland.

Israeli police said the investigation was ongoing, while Israeli media reported that the Shin Bet domestic security service was involved.

Major General Moshe Finchi, the Israeli police's West Bank commander, said "an arrest operation was conducted before dawn" following "the severe incidents of violence over the past weekend, including the assault of a media worker and the suspected attacks on foreign civilians."

Foreign Minister ⁠Gideon Saar and the Israeli military have blamed "Israeli rioters" for the attacks on the diplomats.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, however, said the diplomats entered a "sensitive area with a history of confrontations without prior coordination" ⁠with the Israeli military. He added that the facts of the attack on ⁠Levine were "unclear."

The attacks came ahead of the crucial October 27 elections for Netanyahu.

Settler violence against Palestinians has surged, with at least 170 attacks reported since September 27, according to Israeli human rights group Yesh Din.

DW's correspondent in Jerusalem, Tania Kraemer, said Palestinians, journalists and international observers have little confidence that the arrests will lead to charges against the alleged perpetrators.

Citing a study of Israeli police investigations into violence against Palestinians in the West Bank by Yesh Din, Kraemer said only about 3% of investigations between 2005 and 2023 ended in a full or partial conviction.

More than 80% were closed because police failed to identify suspects or gather sufficient evidence, the Yesh Din report said.