Eight arrested over Judea and Samaria weekend violence

Israeli security forces detained eight Jewish suspects early Monday over the weekend's violence in Judea and Samaria. The Jerusalem Post reported that the arrests are connected to the weekend's events, which included the attack on Washington Post photojournalist Heidi Levine, an American citizen.

The Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency), Border Police and the IDF ran the operation jointly. In addition to the arrests, forces seized several vehicles and cleared illegal construction. All eight suspects were handed over for questioning, and the investigation into the weekend's events remains open.

Levine was wounded on Friday. In an interview with Walla, she said she had also sustained injuries to her back and a rib. She described a drawn-out assault during which her cameras and personal belongings were stolen. Ynet reported that she was moderately injured and underwent surgery in Israel.

A second attack followed on Saturday afternoon near Taybeh, the last entirely Christian village in Judea and Samaria. Masked men carrying sticks and metal crowbars attacked a delegation of diplomats from France, Belgium and Poland who had come for the olive harvest. Bernard Baudoux, the mayor of Aulnoye-Aymeries in France, was kicked and injured. A vehicle belonging to the Belgian Consulate was left with a smashed window.

Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar and the IDF blamed "Israeli rioters" for the Taybeh attack. The Prime Minister's Office took a different line. In an English-language statement, it questioned the European version of events, said the delegation had entered a sensitive area without coordinating with the IDF, and noted that the circumstances were still under investigation. Delegation members rejected the coordination argument as "misleading" and said visits to Taybeh do not require coordination.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared on Friday that "those responsible will be brought to justice." On Saturday night, US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee demanded that those who took part in the attack on Levine be investigated, arrested and prosecuted "to the fullest extent of the law."

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Saturday night that Washington had asked Israel to crack down on violence in Judea and Samaria. "We've asked the Israelis and continue to ask them to crack down on that stuff," Rubio said.