The brutal beatings drew international condemnation and demands from West Jerusalem to take action against the perpetrators<\/p>\n
Israeli security forces arrested ten suspected extremist settlers in the occupied West Bank on Monday following attacks on a US journalist and European diplomats that sparked international outrage.
\nThe suspects were detained during a joint operation dubbed \u201cOlive Leaf,\u201d involving police, the Shin Bet security agency, and the IDF, Israeli police said in a statement on Monday.
\nThe arrests were part of an investigation assigned to the police\u2019s Judea and Samaria District investigative unit, the authorities said, using Israel\u2019s name for the West Bank. Ten suspects were arrested in the pre-dawn operation, evidence linking them to the incidents was seized, and several vehicles were confiscated, the police said.
\n\u201cThe law in Judea and Samaria applies to everyone, regardless of identity or affiliation,\u201d Israeli Police Commissioner Danny Levy stated.<\/p>\n
Read more<\/p>\n
Trump backs Netanyahu as US slams settler violence (VIDEO)<\/p>\n
The first attack took place on Friday, when Israeli settlers brutally beat Washington Post photojournalist Heidi Levine during their reported raid on an olive harvest in the West Bank, breaking four of her vertebrae and a rib, according to WaPo. IDF soldiers reportedly witnessed the event, but did nothing to help her.
\nThe following day, masked settlers attacked a convoy of European diplomats in the Palestinian territory. Bernard Baudoux, mayor of the French town of Aulnoye-Aymeries, accused the attackers of kicking him and beating him with metal bars.
\nThe attack drew condemnation and demands for action from France, Belgium, and Poland, whose diplomats were part of the delegation. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Saturday that Washington had urged Israel to \u201ccrack down\u201d on the violence.<\/p>\n
Read more<\/p>\n
WATCH Israeli settlers attack European diplomats in West Bank<\/p>\n
The violence came amid Israel\u2019s accelerating expansion of settlements in the occupied West Bank, where they are considered illegal under international law. Israel advanced plans for nearly 11,000 settlement homes this year in a push championed by far-right members of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu\u2019s cabinet, according to Israeli watchdog Peace Now.
\nMore than 2,060 settler attacks resulting in casualties or property damage took place this year to date, with 244 incidents since late September, the UN said last week. More than 160 attacks targeting the Palestinian olive harvest were recorded in the two weeks covered by the report, it added.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The brutal beatings drew international condemnation and demands from West Jerusalem to take action against the perpetrators Israeli security forces arrested ten suspected extremist settlers in the occupied West Bank…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":40139,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":[],"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","footnotes":""},"categories":[4,6,3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-40138","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-economy","category-environment","category-politics"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t