By Oren Liebermann, Tal Shalev, CNN
Jerusalem (CNN) — Amid US pressure on a surge of settler violence in the occupied West Bank, Israeli police arrested at least 10 suspects in the weekend attacks on a Washington Post journalist and an entourage of European diplomats.
Police said the operation to locate and arrest the suspects was called “Olive Leaf,” an apparent reference to the recent start of the olive harvest in the West Bank, which has seen a dramatic rise in settler attacks.
On Friday, settlers attacked and hospitalized veteran Washington Post photojournalist Heidi Levine as she traveled with a group of Palestinians at the start of the olive harvest. One day later, settlers attacked a group of European diplomats visiting the Palestinian Christian town of Taybeh.
US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee welcomed the arrests as a “very positive development in finding & punishing those who severely attacked and beat Heidi Levine.”
According to police, security forces worked with the Israeli military to locate and arrest the suspects across the area with the attacks took place. “During this activity, 10 suspects were arrested, findings linking them to the incidents were sized and several vehicles were confiscated,” police said.
“We are working to collect evidence, findings and testimonies and to consolidate an evidentiary infrastructure that will enable bringing those involved to justice,” said Israel Police Superintendent Moshe Pinchi in a statement.
Israeli human rights group Yesh Din documented more than 530 incidents of settler violence since the beginning of the olive harvest in late-September, averaging 27 violent incidents each day. According to Yesh Din, Israeli soldiers were present at roughly one quarter of the attacks over this period.
On Saturday, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the Trump administration has told Israel that the US “doesn’t want to see a new spark” in the West Bank and called on Israel to take action against settler violence.
“We’ve asked the Israelis and continue to ask them to crack down on that stuff,” said Rubio before his flight to India and Uzbekistan. “The President has been very clear. He’s said this repeatedly. He does not want to see friction or anything – a crisis – going on in the West Bank.”
Despite video of the attacks on both Levine, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has tried to cast doubt on the violence, saying afterwards that “serious questions remain.” In an apparent attempt to avoid upsetting his right-wing voter base so close to Israel’s elections, Netanyahu has repeatedly downplayed the severity and scale of settler violence, claiming it’s carried out by a rogue group.
Meanwhile, Israel’s defense minister said on Monday he would not reinstate administrative detention against Jewish Israelis, which allows authorities to hold suspects without charge or trial. The draconian measure was one of Israel’s most effective tools against settler extremism, but the defense minister cancelled its use against Jewish Israelis as one of his first decisions nearly two years ago.
On Sunday, President Donald Trump endorsed Netanyahu ahead of the election, which will take place on October 27, calling him “Strong, Brave, and Brilliant.” For weeks, Trump had sidestepped questions on whether Netanyahu should be re-elected, including just days earlier when he said, “I don’t trust anyone in the world of politics.”
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