Israeli settler arrested over Huwara assault, police say

Israeli police said Wednesday they arrested an Israeli settler suspected of violently assaulting Palestinians in the occupied West Bank while wearing military uniform in June.

Police said the attack took place on June 6 in the Palestinian town of Huwara in the northern West Bank. Footage published by Israeli media shows multiple assailants pushing two Palestinians to the ground and physically assaulting them. One attacker in military uniform can be seen repeatedly punching a Palestinian lying on the floor.

Police said the suspect seen in the recordings wearing Israeli military uniform had been on the run for the past month. They said he was equipped with Israeli military gear, including an M16 rifle and a handgun, and apparently assaulted Palestinians, some of whom required hospital treatment.

Police identified the suspect as a man in his 20s, a resident of an Israeli settlement in the West Bank and a member of a rapid response squad, an armed civilian unit that provides security for settlements. In a second statement, police said he was not an active-duty soldier.

Police said several suspects had already been arrested as part of the investigation and that an indictment had been filed against one person involved in the assault.

Excluding annexed east Jerusalem, about three million Palestinians live in the West Bank alongside more than 500,000 Israelis in settlements that are illegal under international law. Violence in the West Bank, which Israel has occupied since 1967, has surged since the Gaza war began with Hamas's October 7, 2023 attack on Israel.

According to Palestinian figures, at least 1,097 Palestinians, including militants, have been killed by Israeli troops or settlers since then. Official Israeli data shows at least 48 Israelis, both civilians and security personnel, have been killed in attacks by Palestinians or during Israeli military operations.