Israeli police have arrested 10 suspects in a pre-dawn operation across the central West Bank, after a weekend of settler violence that hospitalized a Washington Post photojournalist and targeted a delegation of European diplomats. The October 19 arrests came amid mounting pressure on Israel over a surge of attacks at the start of the Palestinian olive harvest.
Two weekend attacks in the West Bank
On Friday, October 16, masked settlers attacked Palestinians gathering olives near Abu Falah, northeast of Ramallah. Heidi Levine, 63, a veteran freelance photojournalist for The Washington Post, was photographing the harvest when between 50 and 80 masked men descended from a nearby hill, some armed, throwing stones with slingshots and setting fire to fields and olive trees, witnesses said. Wearing a helmet and a vest marked "PRESS," Levine was knocked down, kicked and beaten with sticks for about 10 minutes, and her cameras and phone were stolen or destroyed. "They just kept kicking me and kicking me," she said from her hospital bed. She was treated in Ramallah with a broken rib, four fractured vertebrae, and a finger torn open to the bone that required surgery.
A day later, masked settlers attacked a delegation of European diplomats in Taybeh, a Christian village near Ramallah. The group included Belgium's consul general Anick Van Calster, French and Polish diplomats, Catholic Church representatives, and Bernard Baudoux, mayor of the northern French town of Aulnoye-Aymeries, who had attended a ceremony marking a twinning agreement with the French town of Saint-Pierre. Witnesses said the attackers surrounded the vehicles, smashed a window of a Belgian consular car, threw stones, and assaulted the French mayor.
The "Olive Leaf" arrest operation
Police said the early-morning raids, dubbed "Olive Leaf," were a joint effort with the military and the Shin Bet security service. Suspects were detained at several locations, including an unauthorized farming outpost near the Ofra settlement and outposts near Shiloh, on suspicion of involvement in the weekend violence, violating a closed military zone order, and illegal construction. Police did not identify them — Israel's Army Radio reported they were Israeli citizens — but said slingshots and several vehicles were seized, and released arrest footage. "We are working to collect evidence, findings and testimonies and to consolidate an evidentiary infrastructure that will enable bringing those involved to justice," said Superintendent Moshe Pinchi. Police Commissioner Daniel Levy said the law applies to everyone "regardless of identity or affiliation." Prosecutions of Israeli settlers are rare.
Reactions from Washington, Brussels, and Jerusalem
U.S. Ambassador Mike Huckabee called the attack on Levine a "despicable act of terror carried out by masked cowards" and welcomed the arrests as "a very positive development." Secretary of State Marco Rubio called the images "disturbing" and said Washington had urged Israel to crack down. Belgium's foreign minister Maxime Prevot condemned the attack on his country's consul general, said "impunity for violent settlers must end," and pledged to push for further EU sanctions.
Jerusalem struck a more complicated tone. The military condemned the attack on the diplomats as a "severe act of violence," but Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu questioned the accounts, saying "serious questions remain" and suggesting a "coordinated smear campaign" against Israel — with national elections just over a week away on October 27. The Israeli rights group Yesh Din has documented more than 530 settler violence incidents since the harvest began in late September, an average of 27 a day. The arrests mark a rare enforcement moment, but with no charges yet announced, it remains to be seen whether the investigation produces convictions.
Music in this post's reel: Kevin MacLeod - Volatile Reaction (incompetech.com), licensed under CC BY 3.0
Sources: CNN: Israel arrests at least 10 suspected of West Bank attacks; Times of Israel: Police arrest 10 suspects for West Bank settler attacks; Al Jazeera: Israeli police arrest 10 after settler attacks; CPJ: American photojournalist Heidi Levine attacked by Israeli settlers.