In Israel, nine suspects placed under house arrest — Jerusalem Post

In Israel, a Jerusalem court, according to the Honenu legal firm representing settlers, ordered that nine of the ten suspects in attacks on an American photojournalist and European diplomats be placed under house arrest. This was reported by the Jerusalem Post.

Investigation into the attacks

The detainees are suspected of involvement in two incidents in the occupied West Bank. Last week, masked settlers were filmed attacking The Washington Post photojournalist Heidi Levine, who was covering the Palestinian olive harvest. After the attack, she was taken to hospital, where she underwent surgery on her finger.

In another part of the West Bank on Saturday, masked settlers attacked diplomats from France, Belgium and Poland, as well as the mayor of one of the French cities. Following the incident involving Levine, the United States called on Israel to step up efforts against settler violence and make arrests. France, Belgium and Poland made similar calls.

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Positions of the sides

Israeli police said that one suspect remained in custody and that the investigation into the violent incidents was ongoing. Honenu lawyer Assaf Gonen called the detentions demonstrative and said they were caused by media pressure and foreign interests.

Yonatan Kannonich, head of research at the Israeli human rights organization Yesh Din, said that most attacks on Palestinians do not result in arrests, while in high-profile cases police detain several settlers and soon release most of them. Yesh Din reported 125 physical attacks on Palestinians harvesting olives during the first 24 days of the season. The Palestinian Authority said that Israeli settlers had killed at least 30 Palestinians since the beginning of the year.