JERUSALEM, Undefined: Israeli police said Monday they had arrested 10 people in the West Bank after settler attacks on an American photographer and a French mayor that drew international condemnation but mixed messages from the government.
Police said they raided several locations across the occupied territory and seized cars and potential evidence related to the attacks.
The arrests come as violence increases in the West Bank, with Israeli settlers disrupting the annual olive harvest of Palestinians.
“Following the severe incidents of violence over the past weekend, including the assault of a media worker and the suspected attacks on foreign civilians, an arrest operation was conducted before dawn,” said Major General Moshe Finchi, the Israeli police’s West Bank commander.
“Suspects were arrested on suspicion of involvement in the violent incidents, violating a military commander’s order concerning a closed military zone, and illegal construction,” he said.
Rising numbers of attacks by settlers against Palestinians have drawn international outrage, with Britain describing it as “ethnic cleansing” and imposing sanctions on products from Israeli settlements.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is facing a tight race for a new mandate in October 27 elections, has tried to shore up his right-wing base and has cast doubt on the circumstances behind the recent settler attacks on Westerners.
The opposition meanwhile described the incidents as a stain on Israel’s image and accused Netanyahu of allowing the violence to happen.