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West Bankupdated 3h ago2 min read

Israeli Settlers Attack European Diplomats During Olive Harvest Visit Near Taybeh

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Settlers attacked European diplomats near Taybeh during the West Bank olive harvest. French mayor beaten; Belgian and Polish diplomats targeted; vehicles damaged.

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Israeli Settlers Attack European Diplomats During Olive Harvest Visit Near Taybeh
Image: عاجل
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Taybeh Olive Harvest Attack

Masked Israeli settlers attacked a group of European diplomats during a visit to Palestinian olive harvesters near the village of Taybeh in the occupied West Bank on Saturday, Belgium's Foreign Minister Maxime Prevot said. Prevot said the delegation included Belgium's consul general, French and Polish diplomats and Catholic representatives, and he added that a French mayor was assaulted and a Belgian vehicle damaged.

Bernard Baudoux, mayor of Aulnoye-Aymeries in northern France, told Reuters he was harvesting olives near Taybeh in solidarity when he was "violently attacked" by masked settlers. Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar condemned the attack, describing the perpetrators as Israeli rioters, while Palestinian Vice-President Hussein al-Sheikh called it a small example of the "daily terrorism" to which Palestinians are subjected.

Image from ABC News & Headlines – Australian Broadcasting Corporation
Image: ABC News & Headlines – Australian Broadcasting Corporation
Reporting for this sectionABC News & Headlines – Australian Broadcasting Corporation

Competing Claims and Probes

Israeli police opened an investigation after footage circulated online appeared to show diplomats being attacked near Taybeh, and Israeli authorities said efforts were underway to locate victims and identify suspects "with the aim of bringing them to justice." The Israel Defense Forces condemned what it called a "severe act of violence" and said no IDF soldiers were present at the scene at the time of the attack.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office urged caution, saying the images on social media "do not establish the complete sequence of events or individual responsibility" and that the reports came amid concerns about a coordinated campaign to smear Israel. A European diplomat responded to Netanyahu's skepticism by telling Anadolu Ajansi, "The facts are clear, we were attacked," and the diplomat added that the State of Israel is responsible for security in the area designated as (C).

Image from Al Jazeera
Image: Al Jazeera
Reporting for this sectionCBS NewsAnadolu Ajansi

Wider West Bank Fallout

The attack came a day after settlers assaulted a US journalist north of Ramallah, and Belgium's Prevot linked the incident to what he called Israel's "illegal settlement policy" while pledging to push for further European Union sanctions. Al Jazeera's Nour Odeh said settlers surrounded the diplomats' vehicles before pelting them with stones and smashing their windows, and Odeh described the broader pattern as "part of a campaign" across the occupied West Bank.

Al Jazeera reported that Israeli forces and settlers also injured Palestinians during olive harvest violence, including six people injured in Ma'in village in the Masafer Yatta area south of Hebron, according to the Palestine Red Crescent Society. Jordan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates condemned the assault and said the Kingdom held Israel, as the occupying power, fully responsible for continuing to shield settler violence, with Ambassador Fuad Al-Majali calling it a dangerous escalation and extension of policies of intimidation and extremism.

Reporting for this sectionAl JazeeraAl-Sawsonah al-Urdaniyah