Israeli Police Detain 10 Over Violent Settler Attacks in West Bank

The Israeli police said they detained at least 10 Israelis on Monday after recent attacks in the West Bank in which Palestinians were assaulted during the annual olive harvest, along with a U.S. citizen and European diplomats. The detainees were all Israeli settlers residing in the occupied West Bank, according to Honenu, a pro-settler legal aid group representing them. The Israeli police statement did not say how many were detained in connection with specific attacks, adding that some of the settlers were detained for entering a closed Israeli military zone. Israel has faced international pressure — including from the Trump administration — to crack down on settler violence. But rights groups say the vast majority of investigations into attacks on Palestinians end without convictions, effectively granting some impunity. Israeli extremist attacks on Palestinians in the territory have spiked sharply in recent weeks as large groups of Palestinians have gathered to pick olives on the outskirts of their towns. The trade is an important economic lifeline for rural Palestinian villages, as well as a treasured cultural rite. On Friday, masked assailants were filmed beating Heidi Levine, 63, a U.S. citizen who was photographing the harvest for The Washington Post. The attackers broke Ms. Levine’s rib, shattered her vertebrae and badly wounded her finger, according to her family, who said she later had to undergo surgery. Image Heidi Levine being treated in a hospital near Ramallah after being beaten by settlers last week. Credit... Ahmad Gharabli/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images We are having trouble retrieving the article content. Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings. Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times. Thank you for your patience while we verify access. Already a subscriber? Log in . Want all of The Times? Subscribe .