Israel releases nine settler suspects held over West Bank attacks

An Israeli court in Jerusalem has released nine of the 10 Israeli settler suspects arrested over attacks on a US journalist and European diplomats in the occupied West Bank, ordering that they be held under house arrest instead. The decision came late on Wednesday, according to Honenu, a law firm that represents Israeli settlers. Israeli police said one suspect remained in custody and that the investigation into the violent incidents was continuing.

The detentions followed calls for a crackdown on settler violence from the United States, and also from France, Belgium and Poland.

Attacks on a journalist and diplomats

Masked settlers were filmed last week assaulting Heidi Levine, a Washington Post photojournalist who was covering a Palestinian olive harvest. She was taken to hospital and underwent surgery on a finger.

In a separate attack earlier this week, masked settlers assaulted French, Belgian and Polish diplomats and a French mayor in another part of the West Bank.

Yonatan Kanonich, head of research at the Israeli rights group Yesh Din, said swift releases after arrests are typical. "In the vast majority of attacks against Palestinians, no arrests are made at all," he said. "In cases that receive media coverage ... the police arrest several settlers and release most of them shortly afterward."

UN chief says situation 'out of control'

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said in a post on X on Thursday that the situation in the occupied Palestinian territory was "out of control". He said Palestinians continued "to suffer daily attacks by Israeli settlers", and noted that journalists and diplomats had also been attacked. Guterres called for "a credible political path towards lasting peace".

409 attacks recorded in October

The Palestinian Colonization and Wall Resistance Commission said on Thursday that it had documented 17 "pogroms" by Israeli forces and settlers against Palestinian farmers and their land during the olive harvest. It recorded 409 attacks in October — 317 by settlers and 92 by Israeli forces. Nablus recorded the most attacks, 166, followed by Salfit with 91.

The commission said the attacks included assaults on farmers, preventing them from reaching their land, theft of crops and agricultural equipment, damage to and burning of olive trees, arrests, threats at gunpoint and live fire. It reported that Ali Hassan Bazzari, from Burqa, died of wounds from settler gunfire while picking olives on October 7.

Also on Thursday, the Palestinian news agency Wafa reported that settlers set fire to olive trees near Imatin, east of Qalqilya, while Israeli forces forced farmers to leave and detained a farmer and several of his workers. Near Yabad, west of Jenin, settlers stole 17 bags of harvested olives and equipment, according to local sources. Citing a local Palestinian official, Wafa said Israeli forces closed transport roads and most village gates around Jenin, preventing farmers from reaching land in Barta'a.

Source: Al Jazeera.