Israel Police said it arrested 10 suspects on Oct. 19, 2026, in several locations in the Binyamin area of the West Bank, citing suspected involvement in weekend violence as the annual Palestinian olive harvest proceeds amid heightened protection concerns.
Police said the operation, named Olive Leaf, involved the Judea and Samaria District, Shin Bet, Border Police and the Israel Defense Forces, with support from the Rakia unit. Officers seized several vehicles and evidence that police said could link suspects to offenses. The statement also cited suspected violations of an order declaring a closed military zone.
The police announcement did not name the suspects or describe their individual alleged roles. It referred to suspected involvement in weekend violence but did not specify whether any suspect was linked to particular incidents.
The Washington Post reported that its photojournalist Heidi Levine was attacked on Oct. 16 near Abu Falah while covering Palestinian olive harvesting. The newspaper said she was hospitalized with serious injuries and underwent hand surgery. Israel Police had opened an investigation into the assault, as described in earlier coverage of the photographer’s hospitalization.
France’s Foreign Ministry said settlers assaulted Bernard Baudoux, mayor of Aulnoye-Aymeries, in Taybeh the following day and targeted representatives of several diplomatic missions, including the French, Belgian and Polish consuls general in Jerusalem. France called on Israeli authorities to arrest those responsible and bring them to justice. The ministry’s account said the diplomatic representatives were targeted; it did not say they were assaulted.
Israel Police Commissioner Dani Levy said in the announcement, translated from Hebrew, that “the law in Judea and Samaria applies to everyone, without distinction of identity or affiliation.” The Washington Post reported that police said the suspects would be brought before a court after questioning.
The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said it had recorded more than 1,600 settler attacks causing Palestinian casualties or property damage across 275 communities by Sept. 14. The agency calculated an average of 6.7 attacks a day in 2026, compared with five a day in 2025, and said attacks and access restrictions disrupt livelihoods and access to agricultural land. OCHA also recorded 185 attacks across 70 communities during the 2025 olive harvest.
