West Bank: Masked settlers attack European diplomats
Diplomats from Belgium, France and Poland were attacked during the olive harvest near Taybeh, and a French mayor was thrown to the ground. Belgium is calling for EU sanctions.
Symbolic image · Photo: Abraham Sobkowski OFM / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0 (cropped and resized)
Masked Israeli settlers attacked a group of European diplomats on Saturday near the Palestinian Christian village of Taybeh in the occupied West Bank. According to Belgian Foreign Minister Maxime Prévot, those affected included Belgium’s consul general for the Palestinian territories, French and Polish diplomats and representatives of the Catholic Church. They had been visiting Palestinian farmers during the olive harvest. According to Al Jazeera reporter Nour Odeh, the attackers surrounded the vehicles, threw stones and smashed windows; a Belgian car was damaged.
French mayor Bernard Baudoux of Aulnoye-Aymeries, who was taking part in the harvest in solidarity, said he had been “violently attacked” and thrown to the ground. Prévot wrote that the impunity of violent settlers must end and said he would push for EU sanctions. French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot demanded the arrest of the perpetrators, while Polish Foreign Ministry spokesman Maciej Wewiór called attacks on diplomats “absolutely unacceptable.”
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar condemned the attack and spoke of “Israeli rioters,” but noted that the visit should have been coordinated with the army. Prime Minister Netanyahu’s office warned against “hasty conclusions.” Police are investigating; no arrests were initially reported. On Friday, an American photojournalist for The Washington Post was injured in settler attacks; according to Al Jazeera, around 300 attacks have been documented during the harvest season since the beginning of October.