Reuters, on West Bank, 22 October 2026

6.0out of 10Serious

Israel frees from custody almost all suspects in two settler attacks, puts them under house arrest

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Heidi Levine, a photojournalist with the Washington Post, speaks to journalists at the hospital after sustaining multiple injuries during an attack by Israeli militant settlers on Palestinians... Purchase Licensing Rights , opens new tab Read more JERUSALEM, Oct 22 (Reuters) - Nine of the 10 suspects arrested in an investigation into militant settler attacks on a US journalist and European diplomats have been released from custody and placed under house ​arrest, a law firm that represents settlers said.

Masked Israeli settlers were filmed last week ‌assaulting Washington Post photojournalist Heidi Levine, who was covering a Palestinian olive harvest in the occupied West Bank. French, Belgian and Polish diplomats and a French mayor were attacked by masked settlers in another part ​of the West Bank on Saturday. Sign up here. The 10 suspects were detained after the United States, ​Israel's closest ally, called for a crackdown on settler violence and for ⁠arrests to be made after the attack on Levine.

France, Belgium and Poland also urged ​Israel, which holds a parliamentary election next week , to take action. Right-wing law firm Honenu said in a ​statement late on Wednesday that a Jerusalem court had ordered nine of the 10 suspects to be released to house arrest. The Israeli police said in a statement that only one suspect remained in custody. It said ​the investigation into the violent incidents continued. Such arrests are rare, with several Israeli rights groups ​saying that the majority of militant settler attacks in the West Bank are carried out with impunity.

"In the ‌vast ⁠majority of attacks against Palestinians, no arrests are made at all. In cases that receive media coverage...the police arrest several settlers and release most of them shortly afterward," said Yonatan Kanonich, head of research at Israeli rights group Yesh Din. MOUNTING WAVE OF VIOLENCE The attacks followed a mounting wave of ​militant Israeli settler violence ​during the Palestinian ⁠olive harvest. Yesh Din has reported 125 physical attacks on Palestinian olive harvesters over the 24 days since the season began.

The attacks often include cases where ​militant settlers throw stones, physically assault and sometimes shoot at Palestinians. ​Levine was ⁠taken to hospital after she was attacked, and underwent surgery on a finger. Israeli settlers have killed at least 30 Palestinians since the beginning of the year according to the Palestinian Authority. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ⁠has ​presided over a rapid expansion of settlements. UN bodies ​and most countries deem Israel's settlements on land occupied in war illegal under international law regarding military occupations.

Israel rejects ​this, . Reporting by Pesha Magid, Editing by Timothy Heritage Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. , opens new tab Suggested Topics: Europe Constitutional Law Human Rights X Facebook Linkedin Email Link Purchase Licensing Rights

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What we found (1)

Reuters reports that nine of ten suspects in settler attacks on a US photojournalist and European diplomats were released to house arrest. It names settlers as the attackers and calls the West Bank occupied in its own voice. Its closing paragraphs, however, write the illegality of the settlements as something UN bodies and most countries merely 'deem', and the article ends on Israel's view that the territory is 'disputed'. That hedges a ruling the International Court of Justice has already made.

  1. Hedges the documented record

    Serious

    “viewing the territory as disputed rather than occupied”

    Why this matters
    Reuters closes the article on Israel's claim that the territory is 'disputed', with nothing after it. The claim is set against a legal ruling as if the two were equal readings.
    The impression it gives
    A reader leaves with the idea that whether the West Bank is occupied is an open question with two sides.
    The context
    The ICJ found Israel's occupation of the West Bank and East Jerusalem unlawful. Reuters itself writes 'the occupied West Bank' elsewhere in the article, yet it lets Israel's rejection have the last word.

    How we know

    • On the recordThe International Court of Justice's July 2024 advisory opinion found Israel's occupation of the West Bank and East Jerusalem unlawful.icj-cij.org (opens in a new tab)
    • Elsewhere in the article“in the occupied West Bank”

    Show it in the article

    Written straight

    The International Court of Justice ruled in July 2024 that Israel's occupation of the West Bank is unlawful and its settlements illegal under international law. Israel rejects the ruling.

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