The European Union has issued a strong condemnation after Israeli settlers attacked a group of visiting European diplomats in the West Bank.
“The EU strongly condemns the latest attacks by violent settlers in the West Bank, including on European diplomats,” the bloc’s foreign service said in a communique.
- Advertisement -
It called for “full accountability” and effective steps to prevent further violence and harassment targeting Palestinians — particularly during the olive harvest — as well as journalists.
The diplomats were attacked the previous day while travelling through the West Bank with Bernard Baudoux, the visiting mayor of a French town.
US seeks to ‘crack down’ on Israeli settler violence in West Bank, Rubio says
The violence has intensified ahead of fiercely contested elections on 27 October. It has also coincided with the annual Palestinian olive harvest, which Israeli settlers have repeatedly disrupted as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu works to reinforce support among his pro-settlement right-wing base.
On Saturday, the 78-year-old French mayor said masked settlers shouted defamatory remarks about France before kicking and striking him with iron bars. He had joined Palestinian farmers harvesting olives in the West Bank alongside senior French and Belgian representatives in Jerusalem and Polish diplomats.
“I think that if settlers are behaving like this, there is a tolerance on the part of the Israeli government,” Bernard Baudoux, mayor of the northern French town of Aulnoye-Aymeries, said after the assault.
“The whole world needs to know what’s happening,” he said.
“For me, I’ll go back to my country and everything will be fine. Those who continue to suffer the most are those who are here.”
Mr Baudoux, who was wearing a sash in the French tricolour, was seen slumped beside the car after the attack. He did not require hospital treatment.
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said Israel must “urgently halt criminal violence” and arrest those responsible for the attack on Mr Baudoux. Belgium’s foreign minister made a similar demand.
American photojournalist for The Washington Post Heidi Levine receiving medical treatment in hospital
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar condemned the assault, referring to the perpetrators as Israeli rioters. He also suggested that the diplomats should have coordinated their visit with the Israeli military.
The incident followed an attack the previous day on Heidi Levine, an American photographer working for The Washington Post. She was in moderate condition yesterday after settlers beat her and broke vertebrae in her back.
“We’re very disturbed by those images and what we’re seeing,” Mr Rubio told reporters on Saturday, adding that US President Donald Trump “does not want to see friction or anything – a crisis going on in the West Bank.”
Mr Trump “doesn’t want to see a new spark,” Mr Rubio added.
Election season
Israel’s foreign ministry condemned the assault on the diplomats, while Israeli police said they would investigate.
Mr Netanyahu, however, has accused critics of running a “smear” campaign against settlers as he seeks to maintain backing from the far-right, pro-settlement camp ahead of this month’s election.
Mr Netanyahu said the diplomats should have coordinated their movements with the Israeli military. He also noted that Mr Baudoux is a communist who is known for supporting the Palestinian cause.
US Ambassador Mike Huckabee described the attack on Heidi Levine as an ‘act of terror’
Mr Netanyahu’s principal election rival, former military chief Gadi Eisenkot, condemned him over the violence, saying it was “burning away the little legitimacy the State of Israel still possesses”.
“Jewish terrorism, under the auspices of the Israeli government,” Mr Eisenkot said of the attacks.
President Isaac Herzog, whose role is largely ceremonial, telephoned Ms Levine in hospital and described the attack as “outrageous and shocking”, saying it weighed on his conscience.
US Ambassador Mike Huckabee called the beating “a despicable act of terror carried out by masked cowards” and urged Israel to prosecute and imprison those responsible.
Attacks on cultural symbol
Mr Baudoux said he had travelled to Taybeh, a Christian stronghold, with his local pastor from France to sign a goodwill agreement.
He was attacked while taking part in the harvest as a symbolic gesture of solidarity with Palestinians, for whom olive trees and their harvest hold deep cultural significance.
Mr Rubio also referred to the harvest and said, “there are other instances we’ve heard complaints about.”
Extremist Israelis have called for an end to the Palestinians’ annual harvest following months of attacks in which settlers have taken land and property. Violence has also targeted Israelis, including a settler who was fatally shot by a Palestinian last month.
Bashar Fawadleh, a priest in Taybeh, said settlers disrupted the harvest and seized olives before assaulting the mayor.
Read more:Netanyahu alleges ‘smear’ campaign against Israel over settler attacksIsraeli settlers burn olive trees, injure journalist in West Bank attackLatest Middle East stories
“One person was hit in the head and needed stitches. They also beat up an older lady in her 70s after insulting her,” the pastor said.
The violence in the West Bank has drawn international condemnation. Britain has led economic sanctions over the attacks, prompting Israel to close the British consulate in Jerusalem.
Israel Gantz, who leads an umbrella group representing settlers, blamed the latest incidents on “groups of provocateurs and terrorists”, while implicitly acknowledging that some Israelis were responsible.
Earlier this month, settlers also attacked AFP photographer Jaafar Ashtiyeh as he reported on tensions surrounding the olive harvest. Several of his ribs were fractured and his camera was stolen.
Mr Netanyahu’s government has accelerated approvals for settlements in the West Bank, which are illegal under international law.
About 500,000 Israelis live in the territory, which Israel seized in 1967, alongside around three million Palestinians.
