Israel Releases Settler Attack Suspects Amid Escalating West Bank Violence Against Journalists and Diplomats

Israeli forces have released nine out of ten Israeli settler suspects detained for alleged attacks on a US journalist and European diplomats in the occupied West Bank. An Israeli court in Jerusalem ordered their release late Wednesday, with the suspects now under house arrest. Honenu, a law firm representing Israeli settlers, confirmed the court's decision. Israeli police stated that one suspect remains in custody as the investigation into the violent incidents continues.

The suspects were detained after the United States called for a crackdown on settler violence, a move also urged by France, Belgium, and Poland. Last week, masked settlers were filmed assaulting Heidi Levine, a Washington Post photojournalist covering a Palestinian olive harvest. Levine was hospitalized and required surgery on a finger. In a separate incident earlier this week, masked settlers attacked French, Belgian, and Polish diplomats, along with a French mayor, in another area of the West Bank.

Rights groups have highlighted the disparity in arrests. "In the vast majority of attacks against Palestinians, no arrests are made at all," stated Yonatan Kanonich, head of research at the Israeli rights group Yesh Din. "In cases that receive media coverage … the police arrest several settlers and release most of them shortly afterward."

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres expressed grave concern over the situation, posting on X that the occupied Palestinian territory is "out of control." He noted that Palestinians continue to endure daily attacks by Israeli settlers, with journalists and diplomats also becoming targets. Guterres called for "a credible political path towards lasting peace."

The Palestinian Colonization and Wall Resistance Commission reported documenting 17 West Bank pogroms by Israeli forces and settlers against Palestinian farmers and their land during the olive harvest in October. The commission recorded a total of 409 attacks that month, with settlers responsible for 317 and Israeli forces for 92. Nablus saw the highest number of attacks with 166, followed by Salfit with 91. These attacks included farmer assaults, prevention of access to land, crop and equipment theft, damage to olive trees, arrests, and threats at gunpoint.

The commission also reported that Ali Hassan Bazzari from Burqa died from wounds sustained by settler gunfire while picking olives on October 7. On Thursday, settlers set fire to olive trees near Imatin, east of Qalqilya, while Israeli forces reportedly forced farmers to leave and detained a farmer and several workers, according to the Palestinian news agency Wafa. Near Yabad, west of Jenin, settlers reportedly stole 17 bags of harvested olives and equipment. Wafa also reported, citing a local Palestinian official, that Israeli forces closed transport roads and village gates around Jenin, hindering farmers' access to land in Barta’a.