Ten arrested in Operation Olive Leaf after reported assaults near Taybeh

Israeli police and the Israel Security Agency arrested ten suspects in a raid before dawn on 19 October 2026 in the Binyamin area, according to a statement published by the Israel Police on the Israeli government website. The operation, which police named "Olive Leaf", followed reports of violence over the weekend, including a suspected assault on a foreign journalist and a suspected assault on foreign diplomats near the village of Taybeh.

The police said officers searched several locations, seized items they say connect the suspects to the alleged offences, and confiscated several vehicles. The ten were taken for questioning by the Central Investigations Unit of the police Judea and Samaria District and by police stations in the Samaria Region. Police said the suspects would be brought before a court for a hearing after questioning, depending on what the investigation finds.

What the suspects are accused of

According to the police account, the arrests were not all for the same alleged offences. The statement lists three categories of suspicion: involvement in the reported acts of violence, breaching an order issued by a military commander that declared the area a closed military zone, and illegal construction. Police said each suspect was sent to a particular investigating unit or station according to the suspicions against that person.

The statement does not say how many of the ten are suspected of each offence, and it does not say whether any of them are alleged to have taken part in the reported assaults on the journalist or the diplomats specifically.

Who carried out the operation

The police described a large joint deployment. Taking part, according to the statement, were dozens of officers from stations across the Samaria Region, officers of the Special Patrol Unit, district reinforcements, Border Police officers serving in Judea and Samaria, and forces from the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), with aerial support from a unit the police call "Rakia".

The Israel Security Agency, often called the ISA or by its Hebrew name Shin Bet, is Israel's domestic security service. Its involvement alongside the police in arrest operations of this kind is noted in the statement, which credits it as a partner in the raid.

Where this took place

Judea and Samaria is the term used by Israeli authorities for the West Bank, and the Israel Police maintains a separate district for the territory. Binyamin is the name used in Israel for an area within that district, and Samaria refers to its northern part. Taybeh, the village the police name as the scene of the reported assaults, lies in the Binyamin area according to the statement.

A closed military zone is an area the military commander can declare off limits, making entry without authorisation an offence. The statement does not say when the order in this case was issued or which area it covers.

What officials said

The commander of the Judea and Samaria District, Deputy Commissioner Moshe Pinchi, said investigators had spent the time since the incidents were reported gathering evidence and witness statements. He said the aim was to build an evidentiary basis "that will enable those responsible to be brought to justice."

Israel Police Commissioner Daniel Levy said: "The law in Judea and Samaria applies to everyone, regardless of identity or affiliation." In the same release, Levy drew a line between preventing incidents on the ground and investigating them once they have happened, describing these as separate responsibilities. He said the police would keep coordinating with other security agencies to strengthen security and the rule of law.

Levy's remark about distinguishing prevention from enforcement suggests the police are aware of questions over how the weekend incidents were allowed to happen, but the statement does not elaborate on who held responsibility for prevention in this case.

What the reports do not say

This account rests on a single source, the police statement itself. It has not been confirmed or added to by other organisations in the material available to us.

• The statement does not identify the suspects, give their ages, or describe who they are or where they live.
• It does not name the foreign journalist or the diplomats, their nationalities, the organisation the journalist works for, or the countries the diplomats represent.
• It does not describe what happened during the reported assaults, whether anyone was injured, or on which day of the weekend they occurred.
• It does not say what items were seized or how many vehicles were confiscated.
• It does not say whether any suspect has been released, charged or brought before a judge, or when a court hearing will take place.

There is no account in the material from the suspects, their lawyers, the journalist, the diplomats or residents of Taybeh.