Israel frees suspects in two settler attacks as West Bank pogroms intensify
An Israeli court has released nine of 10 settler suspects arrested over attacks on a US journalist and European diplomats in the occupied West Bank, placing them under house arrest.
The suspects had been detained following attacks on a Washington Post photojournalist and European diplomats. Masked settlers assaulted Heidi Levine while she was covering a Palestinian olive harvest, resulting in hospitalization and surgery on a finger. In a separate incident, masked settlers attacked French, Belgian and Polish diplomats and a French mayor.
International Response
The arrests came after the United States called for a crackdown on settler violence, with France, Belgium and Poland also urging Israel to act. However, the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres stated the situation in the occupied Palestinian territory was 'out of control', with Palestinians continuing 'to suffer daily attacks by Israeli settlers' and journalists and diplomats also being targeted.
Escalating Violence
The Palestinian Colonization and Wall Resistance Commission documented 17 West Bank pogroms by Israeli forces and settlers against Palestinian farmers during the olive harvest, recording 409 attacks in October—317 by settlers and 92 by Israeli forces. Nablus recorded the most attacks (166), followed by Salfit (91).
The attacks included assaults on farmers, preventing access to land, theft of crops, damage to olive trees, and arrests. Ali Hassan Bazzari from Burqa died of wounds from settler gunfire while picking olives on October 7. Recent incidents include settlers setting fire to olive trees near Imatin and stealing 17 bags of harvested olives near Yabad.
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