Israeli police arrest suspects over settler attacks on US journalist, European diplomats
TEL AVIV, Oct 19 (Reuters) - Israeli police said on Monday they had arrested 10 suspects as part of an investigation into violent incidents in theoccupied-West Bank over the weekend, including separate attacks on a Washington Post photojournalist and European diplomats. The United States, Israel's closest ally, had urged a crackdown on settler violence and the arrest of the perpetrators of the…
Israeli police have arrested ten individuals in the West Bank following a series of settler attacks, including assaults on an American photographer and a French mayor. The arrests occurred after a raid on multiple locations across the West Bank, with authorities seizing cars and potential evidence related to the incidents. These attacks have intensified as settlers disrupt the Palestinians' annual olive harvest.
Major General Moshe Finchi, the Israeli police commander for the West Bank, stated that the suspects were apprehended based on their suspected involvement in the violent acts, which violated a military commander's order regarding a closed military zone and illegal construction.
The attacks have sparked global condemnation, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu facing pressure as he prepares for the upcoming October 27 elections. Netanyahu's right-wing base has been a focus of his efforts to secure a mandate, and he has downplayed the circumstances surrounding the recent settler attacks. The opposition has criticized the incidents, describing them as a stain on Israel's image and accusing the Prime Minister of allowing the violence to occur.
Rights groups have noted that Israel rarely prosecutes settlers when the victims are Palestinians, with an average of six settler attacks against Palestinians per day in the first half of the year, according to the United Nations.
One particularly violent incident involved settlers attacking a convoy of European diplomats, including the French and Belgian consuls general in Jerusalem, in the town of Taybeh. The attackers beat Mayor Bernard Baudoux, a 78-year-old Frenchman advocating for the Palestinian cause, and Mayor Bernard Baudoux of Aulnoye-Aymeries, a supporter of the Palestinian cause who was in town for a goodwill visit and was assisting with olive harvesting.
Just a day earlier, settlers had attacked Heidi Levine, a 78-year-old American photographer working for The Washington Post, leaving her in hospital with broken vertebrae.
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