Israel Releases Most Suspects in Attacks on US Journalist, Foreign Diplomats

Translated & summarized from Panet by baba

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Arabic · 3 newsrooms covering

Nine of ten suspects arrested for attacking US journalist Heidi Levine and foreign diplomats in the West Bank have been released under house arrest, according to their lawyers. The arrests followed international pressure on Israel to curb settler violence after the incidents last week. Human rights groups state that such arrests are rare and most settler attacks go unpunished. The attacks occurred during a period of increased settler violence against Palestinian olive harvesters.

The story in 5 lines · by baba

Nine of ten suspects in attacks on Heidi Levine and foreign diplomats in the West Bank were released under house arrest.
The US and European nations urged Israel to act against settler violence following the incidents.
The law firm Honenu confirmed the court-ordered release of nine suspects.
Human rights groups state that most settler attacks in the West Bank go unpunished.
The attacks occurred during a surge in settler violence against Palestinian olive harvesters.

Israel Releases Most Suspects in Attacks on US Journalist, Foreign Diplomats — Editorial illustration generated by baba News, not a photograph of the event.

Nine out of ten suspects detained in connection with attacks on a US journalist and foreign diplomats in the West Bank have been released from custody and placed under house arrest, according to a law firm representing settlers. The suspects were arrested following assaults by extremist settlers on Washington Post photographer Heidi Levine, who was covering the Palestinian olive harvest, and diplomats from France, Belgium, and Poland, along with a French mayor, in separate incidents last week.

The arrests came after the US, Israel's closest ally, called for a crackdown on settler violence and accountability for those responsible following the attack on Levine. France, Belgium, and Poland also urged Israel to take action ahead of its upcoming parliamentary elections.

The right-wing law firm Honenu stated that a Jerusalem court ordered the release of nine of the ten suspects, placing them under house arrest. Israeli police confirmed that only one suspect remained in detention, adding that the investigation into the violence was ongoing.

Such arrests are rare, with Israeli human rights organizations noting that most extremist settler attacks in the West Bank go unpunished. "In the vast majority of attacks against Palestinians, no arrests are made at all. And in cases that receive media coverage, the police arrest a number of settlers and then release most of them shortly thereafter," said a representative from the Israeli human rights organization Yesh Din.

These attacks occurred amid a surge in violence by extremist Israeli settlers during the Palestinian olive harvest season. Yesh Din reported 125 physical attacks on Palestinian olive harvesters in the 24 days since the season began. These often involve stone-throwing, physical assault, and sometimes gunfire. Levine was hospitalized and underwent surgery for an injured finger. The Palestinian Authority reported that Israeli settlers have killed at least 30 Palestinians since the beginning of the year.