The Israeli police announced on Monday the arrest of 10 settlers suspected of involvement in two separate attacks, the first against American journalist Heidi Levine, and the second against foreign diplomats in the occupied West Bank. This step came following widespread international condemnation and growing calls for accountability, within the framework of a security campaign launched by the police named "Olive Branch".
In the same context, the police stated in an official statement that they carried out this campaign on Monday morning in cooperation with the General Security Service "Shabak", to investigate the serious violent incidents that occurred at the end of last week. It confirmed that the 10 suspects were present at the scene, and evidence linking them to the alleged acts was seized, along with the confiscation of several vehicles.
For his part, the US Ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee, welcomed the step, describing it as "a very positive development" in finding the attackers and punishing them. Huckabee had previously described the attack on the unarmed journalist, who works for the "Washington Post", as a "despicable terrorist act", calling on Israeli authorities to prosecute the perpetrators and imprison them.
Reports indicated that the settlers attacked Levine while she was covering the olive harvest season in the village of Abu Falah, and also attacked vehicles carrying French, Belgian, and Polish diplomats in the town of Tuba, resulting in the shattering of windows in one of the vehicles. Approximately 750,000 settlers live in the West Bank, where attacks against Palestinians and their property have intensified since the beginning of military operations in Gaza.
Source: Anadolu Agency
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