Israeli authorities have released most of the suspects arrested in connection with recent attacks in the occupied West Bank to house arrest, following widespread international condemnation of violence targeting journalists and foreign diplomats.
Israeli police announced on Monday that 10 people had been arrested over the incidents. Violence by Israeli settlers against Palestinians and other individuals in the occupied territory has increased, while prosecutions of alleged perpetrators remain uncommon.
Honenu, a legal aid organisation that frequently represents Israeli soldiers and settlers, said all but one of the suspects had been released to house arrest.
Defence lawyer Assaf Gonen criticised the arrests, describing them as a measure intended to respond to media scrutiny and pressure from foreign governments. The identities of the suspects have not been made public.
The developments follow a series of attacks involving journalists and European representatives in the West Bank.
On Friday, American photographer Heidi Levine, 65, who was working for The Washington Post, was hospitalised with fractured vertebrae after being allegedly assaulted by Israeli settlers while covering the territory’s annual olive harvest.
Around 10 days earlier, Agence France-Presse photographer Jaafar Ashtiyeh was also reportedly beaten by settlers while covering the olive harvest and required hospital treatment.
In a separate incident the following day, settlers attacked a convoy carrying European diplomats and assaulted Bernard Baudoux, the 78-year-old mayor of Aulnoye-Aymeries in northern France, who was visiting the region on a goodwill mission.
The incidents prompted international condemnation and renewed scrutiny of the Israeli government’s response to settler violence.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is seeking another term in office, has faced criticism over his response to the attacks. Opposition figures have accused his government of damaging Israel’s international reputation, while Netanyahu has questioned aspects of the accounts surrounding the recent incidents involving Western visitors.
Meanwhile, violence in the occupied West Bank has intensified in recent months, with Palestinians reporting frequent attacks, thefts and acts of vandalism attributed to Israeli settlers.
Palestinian landowners have also reported the seizure of olive groves, which hold economic, cultural and symbolic significance for Palestinian communities.
Excluding East Jerusalem, approximately three million Palestinians live in the West Bank, a territory occupied by Israel since 1967. More than 500,000 Israelis also reside in settlements there, which are considered illegal under international law.
