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

US president says Israeli PM is only candidate who won't leave Washington alone in fight against Iran; PM urges voters to heed president's words and vote for him; Eisenkot and Bennett say only Israeli voters will decide

Israelis are set to vote Oct. 27, in the first national elections since Hamas attacked Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.

In 1st such security briefing since Oct. 7 Hamas massacre, PM warns of existential stakes in next week's ballot, pledges to complete war objectives, and outlines new offensive doctrine

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

Rubio: Trump is not 'a supporter of what he’s seeing now on television,' says US has asked Israel to 'crack down' on extremist settler violence; relatives say Levine, who has lived in Israel since the 1980s, has covered war zones for decades and never faced such an attack

PM says remarks by pundit Yinon Magal, widely seen as a Netanyahu mouthpiece, 'highly inappropriate,' asserts incorrectly that businesswoman called Likud supporters chimpanzees and baboons

38 parties are competing for 120 seats in the Knesset; only about 11 of them are expected to enter parliament, and then one candidate needs to pull together a viable coalition

El diplomático afectado rechazó las declaraciones de Netanyahu y aseguró que los hechos ocurrieron de manera clara. "Los hechos son claros. Fuimos atacados", afirmó.

Observers tell ToI that even if new leadership leaves security doctrine and opposition to two-state solution in place, shifts in approach to Palestinians and regional diplomacy could change tenor of ties

Hawkish opposition chiefs say they'll replace Knesset speaker, pass term limits for PM, ban criminal defendants from serving in role; Netanyahu urges high turnout among his backers