West Bank: Israel arrests 10 suspects over settler attacks on US journalist, European diplomats
Israeli police said Monday they had arrested 10 suspects over settler violence in the occupied West Bank , including attacks on a US photojournalist and European diplomats. Masked settlers were filmed assaulting The Washington Post photographer Heidi Levine on Friday while she was covering a Palestinian olive harvest, leaving her with broken vertebrae. The following day, settlers attacked a convoy of European diplomats and French mayor Bernard Baudoux, who was visiting the West Bank to help with the harvest.
Left out here: Drops what it reported before
DW says Levine was covering a Palestinian olive harvest but never says that the dozens of masked settlers also attacked the Palestinian villagers harvesting olives in Abu Falah, which DW's own earlier report stated. A reader comes away thinking the Friday attack targeted only a foreign journalist, and the Palestinian victims of the same assault drop out of the story.
How we know
- Deutsche Welle (English) wrote earlier“involved "dozens of masked Israeli settlers" who attacked Palestinian villagers gathering the autumn olive harvest”West Bank: US journalist injured by Israeli settlers (opens in a new tab)
- Middle East Eye reported“dozens of Israeli settlers attacked Palestinians harvesting olives”Israel arrests 10 settlers over attacks on US journalist and European officials in West Bank (opens in a new tab)
The incidents drew condemnation from the United States, France, Belgium and Poland. Israeli police said the investigation was ongoing, while Israeli media reported that the Shin Bet domestic security service was involved. European diplomats attacked by Israeli settlers To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video What did the authorities say? Major General Moshe Finchi, the Israeli police's West Bank commander, said "an arrest operation was conducted before dawn" following "the severe incidents of violence over the past weekend, including the assault of a media worker and the suspected attacks on foreign civilians."
Foreign Minister Gideon Saar and the Israeli military have blamed "Israeli rioters" for the attacks on the diplomats. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu , however, said the diplomats entered a "sensitive area with a history of confrontations without prior coordination " with the Israeli military. He added that the facts of the attack on Levine were "unclear." The attacks came ahead of the crucial October 27 elections for Netanyahu .
West Bank olive harvest under attack To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Will the Israeli settlers face prosecution? Settler violence against Palestinians has surged, with at least 170 attacks reported since September 27, according to Israeli human rights group Yesh Din. DW's correspondent in Jerusalem, Tania Kraemer, said Palestinians, journalists and international observers have little confidence that the arrests will lead to charges against the alleged perpetrators.
Citing a study of Israeli police investigations into violence against Palestinians in the West Bank by Yesh Din, Kraemer said only about 3% of investigations between 2005 and 2023 ended in a full or partial conviction. More than 80% were closed because police failed to identify suspects or gather sufficient evidence, the Yesh Din report said. Israeli settler attacks on West Bank Palestinians increase To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Edited by: Karl Sexton Don't let the algorithm hide the news.
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