From the Liveblog of
Sunday, November 9, 2025
Police arrest man on terror suspicions, as part of probe of settler attack on Palestinian woman
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Police have arrested a man on suspicion of beating a Palestinian woman unconscious during an attack last month by settler extremists on Palestinian olive harvesters in the central West Bank.
He is being held on terror suspicions for the assault, which left 52-year-old Afaf Abu ‘Olia with a severe head injury. She was hospitalized for a week as a result of the beating.
The suspect is one of dozens of Jewish extremists who attacked olive pickers near the village of Turmus Ayya on October 19, injuring two Palestinians and a foreign activist.
Footage of the attack shows a masked man taking a wooden club to Abu ‘Olia’s head, causing her to collapse to the ground and remain there motionless.
The suspect’s arrest marks a rare instance of Israeli authorities taking action to curb settler violence against West Bank Palestinians. The filmed attack appeared to shock police’s West Bank District commander Moshe Pinchi, who told an internal police WhatsApp chat that the footage “kept me up at night,” per a Channel 12 news report.
Following a court-issued arrest warrant, police detained the suspect and brought him to court to extend his remand. A judge has ruled that he will remain in custody for at least eight more days until November 16, police say.
The investigation into the incident, conducted jointly by the Israel Police and Shin Bet, is ongoing.
The Times of Israel Community.