European diplomats attacked by Israeli settlers in West Bank; Israel urges caution before drawing conclusions

Police investigate Taybeh assault

Israeli police said an investigation began after video circulated online that appears to show diplomats being attacked near Taybeh. Police said they were trying to locate those affected and identify suspects.

The Israeli military condemned what it called a severe act of violence, saying diplomatic representatives were attacked by Israeli rioters. It said the visit had not been coordinated with the military and that no soldiers were present.

Israel’s public broadcaster Kan reported that the delegation included representatives from France, Belgium and Poland. The prime minister’s office said images of masked people confronting a diplomatic vehicle did not establish the full sequence of events or who was responsible.

Officials describe the incident

Belgian Foreign Minister Maxime Prevot said the people targeted included Belgium’s consul general, French and Polish diplomats, and Catholic representatives. He wrote that a French mayor was assaulted and a Belgian vehicle was damaged, while his team was safe.

Bernard Baudoux, mayor of Aulnoye-Aymeries in northern France, told Agence France-Presse he was attacked during a goodwill visit to Taybeh. He said attackers kicked and struck him with iron bars, but that he had no serious injuries.

Poland’s foreign ministry said its representatives were unharmed and that available information did not indicate they were specifically targeted. It said Israeli settlers may have been responsible, based on preliminary information, and called the incident unacceptable.

Israeli office urges caution

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said violence against diplomats was unacceptable, while calling for compelling evidence before reaching conclusions. It said the delegation entered a sensitive area with a history of confrontations without coordinating with the Israeli military.

The office also questioned the circumstances surrounding the incident and said reports came amid concerns about what it described as a coordinated campaign to smear Israel and Jewish residents of Judea and Samaria during the olive harvest. It noted that Baudoux had previously raised a Palestinian flag over his town’s municipal building, which French authorities ordered removed.

Prevot linked the incident to Israel’s settlement policy and called on Israeli authorities to protect Palestinians. He said diplomatic duties, news reporting and olive harvesting should not expose people to attacks.

Wider violence and prior attack

United Nations humanitarian office statistics show that settler violence against Palestinians in the West Bank has increased in recent years, particularly since Israel’s current government was established in late 2022. Activists say authorities do little to stop it, especially during the annual olive harvest.

Saturday’s incident followed an attack on Friday in which several people were seriously injured, including American photojournalist Heidi Levine. Her daughter said Levine was undergoing finger surgery and also had a broken rib, multiple broken vertebrae and lacerations. Police and the military said they had opened investigations into Friday’s attack.