- Published
Israeli police say they have arrested 10 suspects in the occupied West Bank after attacks by settlers on an American journalist and European diplomats last week.
asserted
they → publish → journalist
The unnamed suspects were detained at several locations on suspicion of acts of violence, violating a closed military zone order and illegal construction, according to a statement.
uncertain
suspects → detain → statement
Potential evidence and vehicles were also seized.
asserted
evidence → seize → ?
On Friday, masked Israeli settlers beat and severely injured Washington Post photojournalist Heidi Levine as she covered an olive harvest in the Palestinian village of Abu Falah.
asserted
she → beat → Falah
A day later, diplomats from Belgium, France, Poland and the Catholic Church were attacked by masked settlers in nearby Taybeh.
asserted
diplomats → attack → Taybeh
The US ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee, welcomed the arrests.
"A very positive development in finding & punishing those who severely attacked and beat Heidi Levine," he wrote on X.
Settler violence in the West Bank is at an all-time high, according to UN records.
uncertain
violence → welcome → records
However, it has escalated dramatically during this year's olive harvest, which is essential to Palestinian livelihoods.
asserted
which → escalate → livelihoods
The Israeli human rights group Yesh Din said on Sunday that it had logged 269 incidents of violence directly related to the olive harvest over the previous 20 days.
asserted
it → say → days
They included 98 cases of violence and physical assaults against harvesters, as well as crop thefts, and the damaging and burning of olive trees.
asserted
They → include → trees
A BBC team witnessed one of several settler attacks during an olive harvest near Khirbet Abu Falah on Friday, which a local official said injured 12 Palestinians, including four dual Palestinian-American citizens, as well as Heidi Levine.
asserted
official → witness → citizens
The veteran photojournalist, who was wearing a flak jacket clearly marked "PRESS" on the front and back, said she was knocked to the ground by a group of settlers, kicked repeatedly, and stripped of her cameras and phone.
asserted
she → wear → cameras
She suffered four broken vertebrae, a broken rib and lacerations across her body.
asserted
She → suffer → body
She required surgery on a finger that was ripped open.
asserted
that → require → finger
In a telephone interview with the BBC's Today programme from her hospital bed in central Israel on Monday, Levine said it "could have been a lot worse".
uncertain
it → say → Monday
"We [journalists] don't always want to wear flak jackets and helmets - it's heavy, it can be a pain when other people aren't wearing them, you feel kind of silly - but we all did and I'm grateful for that."
asserted
I → want → that
"I think I would have suffered more serious injuries for sure, especially [to] my head.
asserted
I → think → head
I tried to keep my face to the ground as much as I possibly could so that protected it...
uncertain
that → try → it
I don't guess, but I know that I'm actually really, really lucky."
asserted
I → guess → ?
Huckabee called the attack on Levine a "despicable act of terror carried out by masked cowards" and said they should spend years in prison.
asserted
they → call → prison
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said President Donald Trump "does not want to see friction or a crisis in the West Bank".
asserted
Trump → say → Bank
Israeli President Isaac Herzog said he had told Levine that the "despicable behaviour of the perpetrators of this attack does not represent the citizens or the values of the State of Israel".
asserted
behaviour → say → Israel
On Saturday, a delegation of Belgian, French, Polish and Catholic Church envoys visited Taybeh, about 6km (4 miles) to the south of Abu Falah, to watch an olive harvest.
asserted
delegation → visit → harvest
Belgium's Foreign Minister, Maxime Prevot, said a car from its consulate was damaged and that a French mayor, Bernard Baudoux, was assaulted.
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mayor → say → consulate
Video from the scene showed masked settlers confronting the convoy and a man wearing a French tricolour sash slumped beside a vehicle.
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settlers → show → vehicle
Reports suggested that stones were thrown.
uncertain
stones → suggest → ?
Prevot condemned the attack in the strongest terms and said that Israel, as the occupying power, had to protect Palestinians, ensure the safety of diplomats and journalists, and bring those responsible to justice.
asserted
Israel → condemn → justice
The European Union also demanded "full accountability".
asserted
Union → demand → accountability
Despite the international condemnation, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office questioned the video evidence and testimony from the incidents in Abu Falah and Taybeh.
asserted
office → question → Falah
It described them as "alleged" attacks and said they came amid what it called a "co-ordinated campaign to smear Israel" and West Bank settlers.
"
asserted
it → describe → Israel
I've had the president of Israel call me, and he was very, very sweet.
asserted
he → have → me
He called the attackers thugs, promised to do everything in his power to have them arrested," Levine told the BBC.
asserted
Levine → call → BBC
"I was just reading another article regarding the prime minister's response, and it's shocking to me.
asserted
it → read → me
She said Netanyahu should have sent a "clear message" telling settlers to end their attacks, "instead of the message that I feel was presented, which is... 'Keep at it.'"
asserted
which → say → it
Israel has built about 160 settlements housing 700,000 Jews since it occupied the West Bank and East Jerusalem - land Palestinians want, along with Gaza, for a future state - during the 1967 Middle East war.
asserted
Palestinians → build → war
An estimated 3.3 million Palestinians live alongside them.
asserted
Palestinians → estimate → them
At least 96 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces or settlers in the West Bank since the start of the year, according to the UN's figures.
uncertain
Palestinians → kill → figures
Twenty-five of those deaths have occurred in the context of settler attacks.
asserted
five → occur → attacks
Four Israelis, both security forces and civilians, have been killed by Palestinians in the West Bank over the same period, the UN says.
asserted
UN → kill → period
Israel's police commissioner, Daniel Levy, said the law applied to everyone in the West Bank, "regardless of identity or affiliation".
asserted
law → say → identity
However, prosecutions of Israeli settlers accused of attacking Palestinians are rare.
asserted
prosecutions → accuse → Palestinians
…and 1 more, not listed.
The Aporia
