Israeli police detain 10 after reported settler attacks in West Bank

The reported attacks involved a US photojournalist, European diplomats or officials and Palestinians. The incidents occurred during the annual Palestinian olive harvest season, a period in which reports described increased settler violence in the West Bank.

The Guardian identified the photojournalist as Heidi Levine and reported that she was attacked while covering the olive harvest in a Palestinian village. The newspaper said Levine suffered serious injuries, including four fractured vertebrae, a finger injury that required surgery and lacerations.

Accounts of the wider incidents describe separate assaults rather than one single attack involving all of the reported targets. The supplied reports do not identify the European diplomats or officials involved, and they give no specific locations for the incidents within the West Bank.

PBS NewsHour reported that Israeli police did not identify the 10 suspects or specify the alleged role of each person in the attacks. The available reports therefore do not establish which individuals were linked to which incident, while the legal charges and prosecution status remain unclear.

US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee described the arrests as “a very positive development,” Al Jazeera reported, citing a post by Huckabee on X. The arrests have drawn attention as a significant law-enforcement response to reported settler violence involving foreign visitors and a journalist during the harvest season.