Israeli police arrest 10 after settler attacks on journalist and diplomats
Israeli police said Monday they arrested 10 suspects over weekend violence in the West Bank. The attacks included an assault on a Washington Post photojournalist and on French, Belgian and Polish diplomats. The US and the diplomats' home countries had urged Israel to act.
Israeli police said Monday they had arrested 10 suspects in an investigation into weekend violence in the occupied West Bank, including separate attacks on a Washington Post photojournalist and on European diplomats, NBC News reported.
The suspects were arrested in a predawn operation on suspicion of violence, violating a closed military zone order and illegal construction, police said. They were not identified. Israel's Army Radio reported that they were Israeli citizens, according to NBC. Ynetnews, reporting earlier Monday, said eight suspects had been detained in the operation, which police code-named "Olive Leaf," and that several vehicles were seized.
On Friday, dozens of masked attackers descended on Palestinian olive harvesters near the village of Abu Falah in the Ramallah area, Ynetnews reported. Two people were hurt, including veteran photojournalist Heidi Levine, who was covering the harvest for The Washington Post. She was taken to a hospital in Ramallah in moderate condition. Some attackers hurled stones with slingshots, NBC reported.
A day later, attackers armed with clubs and stones went after diplomats from France, Belgium and Poland, along with Israeli activists, near the village of Taybeh, Ynetnews reported. Video showed the masked men approaching the diplomats' vehicle and chasing the group on an all-terrain vehicle.
The United States, Israel's closest ally, had urged a crackdown, and France, Belgium and Poland called on Israel to act, NBC reported. U.S. Ambassador Mike Huckabee called the arrests "a very positive development in finding & punishing those who severely attacked and beat" Levine, NBC reported.
"The Israel Police is committed to professional, equal, and impartial law enforcement, based on evidence and in accordance with the law," Police Commissioner Daniel Levy said. Prosecutions of Israeli settlers are rare, NBC reported.
A police video of the raid appeared to show two slingshots found at one property, NBC reported.
What we know: Police say they arrested 10 suspects after attacks on a U.S. journalist and European diplomats.
What we don't: Whether any of the suspects will be charged.
Where outlets agree NBC News and Ynetnews both report that Israeli police arrested suspects early Monday over the weekend attacks on photojournalist Heidi Levine and European diplomats.
Where they differ The cited reports agree on the key facts so far.