The Israel police arrested eight Jewish suspects in the West Bank early Monday as part of a new operation launched following violent attacks on American photojournalist Heidi Levine and European diplomats over the weekend, incidents that sparked international condemnation, including from senior U.S. officials.
Police said the operation, codenamed "Olive Leaf," began before dawn and was continuing Monday morning. The eight suspects were detained on suspicion of involvement in the assaults, which took place in the Benjamin region north of Jerusalem.
Police arrest suspects in the West Bank
(Video: Israel Police)
Several vehicles were also seized during the raids. At the same time, Israeli military and Border Police forces were conducting enforcement operations targeting illegal construction, violations of military orders and the unauthorized occupation of a Palestinian home.
The arrests follow a weekend of violence during the annual olive harvest in the West Bank, which has drawn extensive international attention after masked Jewish extremists attacked Palestinian farmers, a Washington Post photographer and visiting diplomats from several European countries.
On Friday, dozens of masked Jewish attackers descended on Palestinian olive harvesters near the village of Abu Falah, in the Ramallah area, injuring two people, including veteran photojournalist Heidi Levine, who was covering the harvest for The Washington Post.
Levine was evacuated to a hospital in Ramallah in moderate condition following the assault. Images and accounts of the attack triggered widespread condemnation, including from senior officials in the U.S. administration.
American photojournalist Heidi Levine
(Photo: Reuters)
A day later, on Saturday, Jewish extremists attacked diplomats from France, Belgium and Poland, along with Israeli activists, who were visiting an olive harvest near the Palestinian village of Taybeh, widely considered the West Bank's last entirely Christian village.
Video footage from the scene showed masked men approaching a vehicle carrying the diplomats, armed with clubs and stones, before pursuing the delegation on an all-terrain vehicle.
Another video showed Bernard Baudoux, mayor of the French town of Aulnoye-Aymeries, sitting on the ground with his back against a vehicle. He was wearing the French tricolor sash identifying his official position. According to members of the diplomatic delegation, Baudoux was pushed during the attack.
The incidents are part of a broader pattern of violence involving residents of unauthorized settler outposts and agricultural farms in the West Bank. Attacks on Palestinians have been reported almost daily for years, with a marked escalation since the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack on Israel.
Israeli settlers attack photojournalist Heidi Levine during the olive harvest
(Video: Reuters)
Attack on European diplomats near Taybeh in the West Bank
(Video: Amit Orfali, Roni Federman)
Much of the violence has traditionally occurred in Area C, which is under full Israeli security and administrative control, but incidents have increasingly spread into Area B, where Palestinian authorities exercise civil jurisdiction while Israel retains overriding security powers.
Despite repeated incidents, law enforcement authorities have struggled to contain the violence. Few indictments have been filed, and suspects arrested in connection with attacks have frequently been released shortly afterward.
Violence typically intensifies during the autumn olive harvest, when Palestinian farmers travel to their groves, often near Israeli settlements and unauthorized outposts. This year's harvest has attracted particularly extensive international coverage following the attacks on journalists and foreign diplomatic representatives.
Monday's arrests mark a new enforcement operation following the weekend's incidents, with police continuing to search for suspects while military and Border Police forces carry out additional enforcement measures in the area.