Israeli settlers suspected of attacking journalist and diplomats released
Nadav Rapaport reports in Middle East Eye on 22 October 2026:
Suspected journalist attackers released
Nine of the 10 Israeli settlers arrested on suspicion of attacking a Washington Post photojournalist and European diplomats over the weekend have been released from custody, Haaretz reported on Wednesday.
A Jerusalem District Court released five suspects on Wednesday, while police released another. Three others had been released on the day of their arrest on Monday, according to the report.
The court found that police had presented evidence linking the suspects to the attacks. However, the judge said the incident took place “in the midst of a much larger event of massive stone-throwing” by Palestinians.
Four of the suspects, all settlers from the occupied West Bank, were released by the court despite police requests to extend their detention.
The releases came just two days after the 10 settlers were arrested in a joint operation involving police, the military and the Shin Bet domestic intelligence agency.
Police suspect the settlers were involved in an attack on veteran photojournalist Heidi Levine in the village of Abu Falah on Friday, which left her hospitalised, as well as an assault on a European delegation visiting the village of Taybeh on Saturday.
Both incidents sparked international condemnation and took place during the West Bank’s olive harvest, when Palestinian farmers and harvesters have faced repeated attacks by Israeli settlers and soldiers.
The far-right legal aid group Honenu, which represents the suspects, welcomed Wednesday’s court decision. “These are staged and baseless arrests designed to appease media pressure and foreign interests,” the group said.
The only suspect still in custody is Nadav Cohen Tzemach, an Israeli reservist accused of running over a Palestinian who was praying by the roadside near Ramallah last year. The court extended his detention until Monday.
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