Masked Israeli settlers attacked European diplomats, Palestinian olive harvesters and a visiting French mayor in the occupied West Bank on Saturday, damaging vehicles belonging to envoys from France, Belgium and Poland in the Taybeh area. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu later said there was a lack of “compelling evidence” surrounding the attack on the diplomats, appearing to suggest it was part of a “coordinated smear campaign.”
Footage showed a diplomatic vehicle pelted with stones, its window smashed. According to testimonies, seven masked settlers surrounded the car, demanded identification documents and then attacked it. The incident came a day after settlers allegedly assaulted American photojournalist Heidi Levine while she was covering the olive harvest.
Belgian Foreign Minister Maxime Prevot said Belgium’s consul general to the Palestinians, French and Polish diplomats, and a French mayor were among those targeted, and that a Belgian vehicle was damaged. “As the occupying power, Israeli authorities must protect Palestinians, ensure the safety of diplomats and journalists, and bring those responsible to justice. Impunity for violent settlers must end,” he wrote on X.
Bernard Baudoux, 78, mayor of Aulnoye-Aymeries in northern France, said he was attacked while joining Palestinian farmers harvesting olives as a gesture of solidarity. “I was thrown to the ground,” he told Reuters, describing kicks, blows from iron bars and derogatory remarks about France. He told AFP he believed there is “a tolerance on the part of the Israeli government” for such behaviour, adding: “The whole world needs to know what’s happening.”
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar condemned the incident, calling those involved “Israeli rioters,” but said the visiting diplomats should have coordinated their presence with the Israeli military, which “could have helped safeguard the visitors’ security.” Police said they opened an investigation, with no immediate arrests announced.
Netanyahu’s stance drew criticism from former military chief Gadi Eisenkot, his main rival in the October 27 elections, who accused the government of allowing settler violence to damage Israel’s international standing. Palestinian Vice President Hussein al-Sheikh described the attack as an example of the “daily terrorism” faced by Palestinians.
The annual olive harvest, a vital source of livelihood and cultural symbol for Palestinian communities, has become a flashpoint. Bashar Fawadleh, a priest in Taybeh, told AFP that settlers attacked the harvest and seized olives before assaulting the mayor; one person needed stitches for a head wound and an elderly woman in her 70s was beaten. Levine, who works for The Washington Post, was hospitalised with reportedly broken vertebrae.
Belgium, which has announced a ban on imports from Israeli settlements in the West Bank and the Golan Heights, will push for European Union sanctions “against those responsible for this violence and those who support them,” Prevot said. Poland said its diplomats were unharmed and condemned attacks on the diplomatic corps as “absolutely unacceptable.” President Isaac Herzog called Levine’s assault “outrageous and shocking,” while settler representative Israel Gantz blamed “groups of provocateurs and terrorists.”
About 500,000 Israelis live in the West Bank, territory captured by Israel in 1967, alongside roughly three million Palestinians. Israeli settlements there are considered illegal under international law, and prosecutions of settlers accused of violent crimes against Palestinians remain rare despite repeated condemnations.
Original Source: https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/middle-east/israeli-settlers-attack-european-diplomats-beat-french-mayor-during-west-bank-olive-harvest-netanyahu-says-no-compelling-evidence/articleshow/135022753.cms
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Publish Date: 2026-10-18 07:06:00
