Key facts
- 10 suspects arrested in the West Bank for settler attacks.
- Photojournalist Heidi Levine suffered four broken vertebrae and a broken rib.
- Diplomats from Belgium, France, and Poland were also attacked.
- Settler violence in the West Bank is at an all-time high, according to UN records.
- 93% of Israeli police investigations into settler violence against Palestinians end without indictment.
Israeli police announced the arrest of 10 suspects in the occupied West Bank following recent settler attacks on an American journalist and European diplomats. The arrests were made at multiple locations on suspicion of violence, violating a closed military zone order, and illegal construction.
Last Friday, photojournalist Heidi Levine was severely injured when masked Israeli settlers attacked her during an olive harvest in the Palestinian village of Abu Falah. The following day, diplomats from Belgium, France, Poland, and the Catholic Church were also assaulted by masked settlers in the nearby village of Taybeh.
US Ambassador Mike Huckabee praised the arrests as a "positive development," while Levine expressed shock at the response from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office, which questioned the evidence of the incidents. Settler violence in the West Bank has reportedly escalated during the current olive harvest season, which is crucial for Palestinian livelihoods.