Move comes after US photojournalist and group of European diplomats and Palestinians were assaulted in separate attacks
Israeli police have detained 10 people in a rare raid against settlers, after a weekend of extreme violence in the occupied West Bank including an attack on US photojournalist Heidi Levine, which she described as an “attempted lynching”.
She was knocked down, kicked and beaten by a group of masked Israeli men as she covered the olive harvest in a Palestinian village on Friday. The militants broke four vertebrae and a rib, ripped open her finger so it required surgery and left her with lacerations across her body.
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© Photograph: Debbie Hill/UPI/Shutterstock
© Photograph: Debbie Hill/UPI/Shutterstock
© Photograph: Debbie Hill/UPI/Shutterstock
The organization warned of an escalation in attacks on Palestinian children through practices including intimidation, arrest, torture, starvation, isolation and denial of medical care. It said information on the number of children detained in Gaza since the war began remains unclear, particularly due to missing-person figures in the enclave and the continued practice of forced disappearance by Israeli forces.
RELATED: U.S. Photojournalist Heidi Levine Beaten by Masked Israeli Settlers
The group said Israel’s administrative detention policy, under which Palestinians are held without publicly filed charges or a clear release timeframe, leaves children facing an uncertain future and deprives them of family and educational stability. It added that Zionist courts contribute to continued violations against children amid a lack of effective accountability.
Palestinian Prisoner’s Society reports dozens of repression raids in Israeli prisons since October 7https://t.co/4zeHJcDpsE pic.twitter.com/tHMSRkUrrJ
— WAFA News Agency – English (@WAFANewsEnglish) October 18, 2026
The report cited the case of Walid Khaled Ahmad, who died in Megiddo prison in March 2025 amid medical findings indicating severe emaciation and signs of malnutrition and dehydration. The group questioned accountability for his death, noting the investigation had been closed.
It also highlighted Mohammed Hamid, 15, who contracted scabies while detained in Ofer prison, leading to severe infections affecting vital organs. He underwent heart surgeries and was admitted to intensive care in critical condition before one of his legs was amputated. The group said Hamid continued receiving treatment for about three months after Israeli authorities released him following his health deterioration, a measure it described as an evasion of responsibility for his medical care.
The Palestinian Prisoners Society called for international action to secure the release of arbitrarily detained children, end administrative detention and coercive interrogations, and stop torture, starvation and denial of medical treatment. It said protecting Palestinian children requires firm international intervention to guarantee respect for their rights, lives and dignity.
According to UN reports and the Gaza Ministry of Health, Israeli forces have killed at least 21,638 children in the Strip since October 2023, including more than 1,000 infants under one year old.
A report by an independent UN commission of inquiry released in June said continued attacks have caused unprecedented deaths, injuries and trauma to children, consolidating the legal characterization of these acts as war crimes and crimes against humanity through deliberate violations of global treaties prohibiting extermination and collective punishment.
Since October 2023, more than 74,000 Palestinians have been killed and more than 175,000 wounded by Israeli fire in Gaza, where around 90% of infrastructure has been damaged or destroyed by massive bombardment. Israeli Army raids and settler attacks against Palestinians and their property have intensified in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, since the start of Israel’s genocide against Gaza in October 2023.
New video footage of Israeli settler assault on European delegation as Netanyahu attempts to raise doubt
Hours after Israeli militants attacked a delegation of European diplomats, French clerics and a visiting mayor in the occupied West Bank, Israel’s leader, Benjamin Netanyahu, responded by questioning the delegation’s account of the assault.
“Serious accusations require serious evidence” was the all-caps headline of a social media post from the office of the prime minister. As news of the attack spread globally there was no pledge to find those accountable and bring them to justice.
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© Photograph: UGC/AFP/Getty Images
© Photograph: UGC/AFP/Getty Images
© Photograph: UGC/AFP/Getty Images
Mike Huckabee calls for arrest and prosecution of those responsible as Heidi Levine, 63, recovers in hospital in Israel
The US ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee, has denounced the settler attack that left the Washington Post photojournalist Heidi Levine badly beaten and needing surgery as a “despicable act of terror” and called for the arrest and prosecution of those responsible.
Levine, 63, an award-winning journalist who lives in Israel, was set upon last Friday by masked Israeli settlers who used clubs and other weapons to attack Palestinian people attempting to harvest their olives in occupied West Bank towns.
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© Photograph: Ariel Schalit/AP
© Photograph: Ariel Schalit/AP
© Photograph: Ariel Schalit/AP
The settlers attacked a delegation of European diplomats and Catholic representatives in the occupied West Bank on Saturday, 17th October, assaulting a French mayor and damaging a Belgian diplomatic vehicle during a visit intended to support Palestinian olive farmers.
The delegation included Belgium’s consul general, French and Polish diplomats and representatives of the Catholic Church. The incident occurred near the Palestinian village of Taybeh, where settlers confronted visitors accompanying local residents during the annual olive harvest.
Belgian Foreign Minister Maxime Prévot condemned the violence and announced that Brussels would press for additional European Union sanctions against those responsible. He also called on Israel to meet its obligations as the occupying power and protect Palestinians, journalists and foreign diplomatic representatives.
According to accounts of the incident, Bernard Baudoux, mayor of the French town of Aulnoye-Aymeries, was assaulted while attempting to enter a vehicle bearing diplomatic plates. The attack also involved members of a Catholic delegation, including Archbishop Vincent Dollmann of Cambrai.
Three people were reportedly injured. Belgian diplomatic personnel were confirmed to be safe.
Israel’s military described the attack as a serious act of violence but said that the delegation’s visit had not been coordinated with the Israeli authorities and that soldiers had not been present when the confrontation occurred.
Israeli police subsequently opened an investigation.
Foreign Minister Gideon Saar publicly condemned the actions of the settlers and said his ministry was in contact with the ambassadors of the countries involved. The Israeli government’s response comes amid mounting international criticism of settler violence against Palestinian communities in the West Bank.
The circumstances are particularly sensitive because the victims included accredited diplomatic representatives from three EU member states. The incident therefore extends beyond the continuing disputes over land ownership and Palestinian access to agricultural areas, raising questions about the protection of foreign officials carrying out recognised diplomatic activities.
For Belgium, the attack has reinforced an existing position in favour of stronger European measures against violent settlers and organisations supporting settlement expansion.
Prévot linked the violence to Israeli settlement policy, arguing that the attacks could not be considered separately from the broader circumstances of the occupation.
The European Union has already introduced targeted restrictive measures against individuals and organisations associated with serious abuses against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank.
In May 2026, the Council of the EU imposed additional sanctions on three individuals and four organisations, including the Nachala Settlement Movement and the Amana cooperative association.
The measures were adopted under the EU Global Human Rights Sanctions Regime and included asset freezes, prohibitions on making funds available to designated persons and travel restrictions on listed individuals.
The Council said the sanctioned organisations had supported or facilitated activities resulting in the displacement of Palestinian communities and the loss of property.
However, agreement on broader economic measures against Israel has proved substantially more difficult.
As EU Today previously reported, European governments have considered restrictions on trade involving Israeli settlements, while divisions between member states have complicated attempts to establish a common position.
The latest attack gives Belgium, France and Poland a direct diplomatic interest in the outcome of any further discussion. Whether this produces a new sanctions agreement will depend on negotiations between EU governments, rather than unilateral declarations by individual ministers.
The incident occurred amid escalating attacks on Palestinian farmers during the annual olive harvest, an important source of income for communities across the West Bank.
Harvesting frequently involves access to agricultural land situated near Israeli settlements or in areas where Palestinians face movement restrictions. Local farmers have complained of intimidation, destruction of trees and attacks by settlers attempting to prevent them from reaching their property.
According to reporting from the area, the Palestinian Health Ministry said at least four people had been killed and more than 100 injured since this year’s harvest began.
The attack on the European delegation followed another serious incident involving American photojournalist Heidi Levine, who was assaulted while covering attacks on Palestinian olive harvesters.
The violence has attracted criticism from international organisations and foreign governments, including those maintaining close diplomatic relations with Israel.
The diplomatic confrontation comes against a background of longstanding disagreement between Brussels and the Israeli government over settlement expansion and the legal status of the occupied territories.
The European Union does not recognise Israeli sovereignty over the West Bank and regards settlements established there as contrary to international law. Israel disputes the application of this legal interpretation to the territory.
The latest incident is unlikely, by itself, to determine the future of EU–Israel relations. It does, however, strengthen demands from governments already advocating targeted sanctions and more effective measures against settlement-related violence.
For Belgium, France and Poland, the immediate questions concern the safety of their diplomatic personnel, the Israeli investigation and whether the perpetrators will face prosecution.
For the EU collectively, the matter now extends to whether its existing sanctions framework can address continuing attacks against Palestinians and, increasingly, European representatives themselves.
French mayor and archbishop also attacked during violent attempt to stop Palestinians harvesting olives
Israeli settler militants have attacked European diplomats, a French mayor and the archbishop of Cambrai in Taybeh, in the occupied West Bank, injuring three people and damaging a car, in the latest violent attempt to prevent Palestinians from harvesting olives on their own land.
Bernard Baudoux, mayor of Aulnoye-Aymeries, was wearing his red, white and blue sash of office and attempting to enter a vehicle with diplomatic plates when he was assaulted and knocked to the ground on Saturday.
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© Photograph: Amit Orfali/Reuters
© Photograph: Amit Orfali/Reuters
© Photograph: Amit Orfali/Reuters
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