Israeli police say they have arrested 10 suspects in the occupied West Bank after attacks by settlers on an American journalist and European diplomats last week.
The unnamed suspects were detained at several locations on suspicion of acts of violence, violating a closed military zone order and illegal construction, according to a statement. Potential evidence and vehicles were also seized.
On Friday, masked Israeli settlers beat and severely injured Washington Post photojournalist Heidi Levine as she covered an olive harvest in the Palestinian village of Abu Falah.
A day later, diplomats from Belgium, France, Poland and the Catholic Church were attacked by masked settlers in nearby Taybeh. The US ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee, welcomed the arrests. "A very positive development in finding & punishing those who severely attacked and beat Heidi Levine," he wrote on X.
Settler violence in the West Bank is at an all-time high, according to UN records. However, it has escalated dramatically during this year's olive harvest, which is essential to Palestinian livelihoods.
The Israeli human rights group Yesh Din said on Sunday that it had logged 269 incidents of violence directly related to the olive harvest over the previous 20 days.
They included 98 cases of violence and physical assaults against harvesters, as well as crop thefts, and the damaging and burning of olive trees.
FULL REPORT AT: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cqn7323p0dxyo
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