European diplomats attacked amid settler raids on West Bank olive harvest

European diplomats were among those attacked by Israeli settlers in the West Bank on Saturday, as extremists carried out raids on Palestinian towns and opened fire at olive harvesters across the territory. According to Palestinian media, three Palestinians were wounded in separate attacks throughout the day in the West Bank. Additionally, some 20 Palestinian-owned sheep reportedly were stabbed to death by settlers during a raid on a farm. The incidents came amid heightened tensions across the West Bank during the annual olive harvest, a period that has frequently seen an increase in the already near-daily occurrence of extremist settler attacks on Palestinians. In one incident Saturday, vehicles belonging to diplomats from France, Belgium, and Poland were attacked by Jewish Israelis in the village of Taybeh during a diplomatic visit to the olive harvest in the area. According to video footage, one of the diplomatic vehicles was pelted with stones, and its window was smashed. Get The Times of Israel's Daily Edition by email and never miss our top stories Newsletter email address Get it By signing up, you agree to the terms Another clip showed a diplomat lying on the ground. תיעוד נוסף: היהודים מתקרבים לרכב הדיפלומטים – עם אלות בידיהם pic.twitter.com/sSrSLUyOhu — דורון קדוש | Doron Kadosh (@Doron_Kadosh) October 17, 2026 Advertisement It was unclear from the footage if the individual was injured. Army Radio reported that, according to testimonies, seven masked settlers arrived at the area on ATVs, surrounded the diplomatic vehicle, demanded identification documents, and smashed the window of a vehicle belonging to the Belgian consulate. The Israel Defense Forces later condemned the “severe” attack. “The IDF strongly condemns the severe act of violence that took place in the area of Taybeh, during which diplomatic representatives were attacked by Israeli rioters,” the military said. “The consulate’s visit was not coordinated with the IDF,” the military added, while saying that “such coordination is important to prevent incidents of this kind.” The army said police officers were entering the area with IDF escort to collect evidence and take testimonies for an investigation, which the Israel Police earlier announced after being sent video of the attack. Advertisement “Upon receiving the footage, police opened an investigation, and the Foreign Ministry was also notified to locate the victims, collect testimony, and identify the suspects so they can be brought to justice,” police said. The police added that they “condemn violence of any kind and will pursue these investigations to ensure that all those involved in these incidents are brought to justice.” A preliminary IDF probe found no troops were present at the scene at the time of the attack. A report of the attack was sent by an Israeli civilian who was accompanying the diplomats to a phone number of the military’s regional brigade, but the IDF said that the brigade’s operations room “is designated to receive reports from security personnel only, and not from civilians.” “The operations room receives dozens of operational reports each day and responds only to authorized personnel, not civilians,” the military said, adding that “other designated channels are available for civilians to submit complaints.” “All circumstances surrounding the incident will be examined,” the military added. Israeli military forces fire tear gas near Palestinian farmers in the village of Salem, east of Nablus in the West Bank, October 17, 2026. (Nasser Ishtayeh/Flash90) Elsewhere in the West Bank, Palestinian media reported that settlers attacked and opened fire on Palestinians harvesting olives and activists accompanying them in the West Bank village of Deir Jarir, northeast of Ramallah According to the reports, settlers fired live ammunition at the Palestinians, eventually forcing them to leave their land. Advertisement The official Palestinian news agency WAFA reported that the settlers were acting under the protection of IDF troops. The IDF did not immediately respond to a request for comment. مستوطنون يهاجمون مركبة في أراضي دير جرير شرق #رام_الله . pic.twitter.com/WIyWvegwUO — وكالة سند للأنباء – Snd News Agency (@Snd_pal) October 17, 2026 Footage circulating online showed settlers throwing stones at a Palestinian vehicle in the Deir Jabrir area. The attack came a day after three Palestinians were injured while picking olives in a settler attack on the same village, WAFA reports. Settlers said to kill sheep at Palestinian farm Also Saturday, settlers reportedly stabbed to death some 20 Palestinian-owned sheep during a raid on a farm in the nearby village of Kafr Malik, also northeast of Ramallah. According to the official Palestinian news agency WAFA, settlers entered the farm on the outskirts of the village and stabbed the animals. Footage circulating online showed the apparent aftermath of the attack, with the mutilated carcasses of numerous sheep piled together. Advertisement Armed Israeli settlers also raided a Palestinian village in the southern West Bank’s South Hebron Hills on Saturday morning and allegedly stole sheep from Palestinians. Footage published by Palestinian media showed the settlers with assault rifles riding on ATVs into the Masafer Yatta hamlet. According to reports, the Israelis broke into a building where livestock was kept and took the sheep with them. Breaking | Israeli settler militias steal a Palestinian-owned flock of sheep in the Ma'in area of Masafer Yatta, south of Hebron in the occupied West Bank. pic.twitter.com/JKRlGwUmDc — Quds News Network (@QudsNen) October 17, 2026 In response to a query, the military said troops and Border Police officers were dispatched to the area “following a violent confrontation that developed amid reports of livestock belonging to Israeli civilians being stolen.” The forces fired warning shots in the air to “disperse the confrontation,” and police officers later entered the area with IDF escort to collect findings for an investigation. “All details of the incident, including the identities of those involved, are being examined,” the military said. A military official said that the identities of the armed Israelis are unknown, and it cannot yet be determined whether the ATVs belong to security bodies. The official added that the IDF was aware of “livestock being stolen by both sides,” and that stolen sheep belonging to Palestinians will be returned to them later. ???? مشاهد متداولة توثق هجوم أعداد كبيرة من المستوطنين الإسرائيليين على خربة ماعين التابعة لبلدة الكرمل شرق يطا، جنوبي الخليل في الضفة الغربية المحتلة، والاعتداء على الأهالي وسرقة مواشيهم. https://t.co/WHZUQMMCC3 pic.twitter.com/pmHU75xT3O — Anadolu العربية (@aa_arabic) October 17, 2026 Additionally, the Israeli military said troops and Border Police officers were dispatched Saturday to the West Bank village of Beit Lid following reports of a “confrontation between several Israeli civilians and several Palestinians in the area.” An Israeli civilian was injured in the area and taken for medical treatment, and “reports of additional injuries are being examined,” the army said, adding that its forces are still operating and conducting searches in the area. US journalist undergoes surgery day after settler assault Meanwhile, Washington Post photographer Heidi Levine underwent surgery in Israel Saturday, after she and several Palestinians were attacked and beaten the day before by settlers in the West Bank. According to Levine’s daughter, Ashley Milner, the journalist’s finger on her left hand was cut to the bone and a tendon was visible, and she also suffered a broken rib, multiple broken vertebrae, as well as lacerations across her body. Levine said the perpetrators — armed with bottles and slingshots — “were kicking me for like 10 minutes and I was trying to hold onto my cameras and my bag.” She said her helmet and protective vest, which was marked “PRESS,” likely saved her from more serious injuries. American photojournalist Heidi Levine lies on a gurney in the emergency room of the government hospital in the West Bank city of Ramallah, after being attacked by Israeli settlers while photographing Palestinian farmers harvesting olives in the village of Abu Falah on October 16, 2026. (Ahmad Gharabli/AFP) Rabin Medical Center in central Israel, where Levine was being treated, said Saturday afternoon that she was in moderate condition after the surgery. This photograph, a still from a video clip, appears to show Heidi Levine, a photojournalist with the Washington Post, carried from the scene after being attacked by Israeli settler extremists in the West Bank, October 16, 2026 (Agenzia Fotogramma/ipa-agency.net/Sipa USA via Reuters) Settler violence against Palestinians has soared this year and spiked further in the weeks leading up to Israel’s October 27 election. Israel has faced growing international criticism over the surge in violence, which Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has downplayed as the work of a small number of delinquents, not from the West Bank. Critics accuse the government of condoning and even encouraging the violence, which has led to the displacement of dozens of Palestinian families. The IDF also faces mounting criticism for troops often standing by while attacks unfold, actively participating or failing to prosecute those responsible. Israel’s security forces, meanwhile, have increasingly sought to stymie the efforts of civil rights activists from assisting Palestinians with the harvest or providing so-called protective presence to them from settler attacks. EU council warns against settlement expansion, E1 progress Also on Saturday, the European Council — the body that decides the European Union’s general policy direction — urged Israel to reverse decisions to expand settlements and warns businesses and financial institutions against bidding for tenders in the controversial E1 settlement project. In the conclusions of its meeting published Friday, “The European Council urges Israel to immediately reverse the expansion of settlements, which are illegal under international law, including by withdrawing its tender for construction in the E1 area. This photograph taken from the E1 corridor, an area in the West Bank shows vehicles driving along the highway near the Israeli settlement of Maale Adumim, on September 8, 2026. (Ahmad GHARABLI/AFP) “It reiterates that businesses should not bid for construction contracts for E1 or other settlement developments and underlines the legal, economic and reputational consequences for businesses and financial institutions participating in settlement construction, including the risk of serious breaches of international law,” it said. Bidding on E1 tenders is expected to close on October 19. The E1 project would see thousands of housing units built as an extension of the Ma’ale Adumim city-settlement, between the existing western boundaries of Ma’ale Adumim and East Jerusalem, cutting off territorial contiguity between key Palestinian population centers, including Ramallah, East Jerusalem and Bethlehem. The Palestinians and many Western governments say the project would effectively torpedo the possibility of a contiguous Palestinian state in the West Bank. Agencies contributed to this report. 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