Israel arrests 10 after West Bank settler attacks

Israeli security forces arrested 10 suspected extremist settlers in the occupied West Bank before dawn on Monday, October 19, following attacks that injured an American photojournalist and targeted a European diplomatic convoy. RT reported that Israeli police announced the arrests after European governments and Washington pressed for action.

Police said the operation, named “Olive Leaf,” involved officers, the Shin Bet security agency and the Israel Defense Forces. Investigators seized material that police said linked the suspects to the incidents, along with several vehicles. Those assertions have not been independently verified by BharatVox, and the arrests do not establish guilt.

The investigation was assigned to the police’s Judea and Samaria District unit, which uses Israel’s designation for the West Bank. Police Commissioner Danny Levy said: “The law in Judea and Samaria applies to everyone, regardless of identity or affiliation.”

Attacks on journalist and diplomatic convoy

The first incident occurred on Friday, October 16, during a reported settler raid on an olive harvest. Citing the Washington Post, the account said its photojournalist Heidi Levine was beaten and suffered four fractured vertebrae and a broken rib. It also reported that Israeli soldiers witnessed the assault without intervening; that allegation was not accompanied by a military response in the account.

A European diplomatic convoy was attacked by masked settlers the following day. Bernard Baudoux, mayor of the French town of Aulnoye-Aymeries, said attackers kicked him and struck him with metal bars.

France, Belgium and Poland, whose diplomats were in the delegation, condemned the attack and demanded action. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Saturday that Washington had urged Israel to “crack down” on the violence.

Olive harvest violence and settlement expansion

The attacks occurred against a backdrop of expanding Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, which are considered illegal under international law. The account cited Israeli watchdog Peace Now as saying that plans for nearly 11,000 settlement homes had been advanced this year, with the expansion championed by far-right members of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s cabinet. These are planning figures, not a count of completed homes.

It also cited a UN report released the previous week that recorded more than 2,060 settler attacks causing casualties or property damage in the year to date, including 244 incidents since late September. More than 160 attacks targeting the Palestinian olive harvest were recorded during the report’s two-week reporting period.

The account did not identify the UN document’s exact release date or reporting dates, or provide a link to the underlying Peace Now figures. Those totals therefore remain attributed figures rather than independently checked findings.