European diplomats attacked by masked Israeli settlers in the West Bank; EU demands accountability
A convoy of envoys from Belgium, France, Poland and the Catholic Church was attacked near Ramallah while assessing settler violence during the olive harvest. A French mayor says he was beaten with iron bars. The EU, Belgium and France condemned the assault; Netanyahu's office urged caution.
A delegation of European diplomats was attacked by masked Israeli settlers on Saturday in the occupied West Bank, in an incident that has drawn condemnation from the European Union, several European governments and the Israeli army itself.
The envoys, from Belgium, France and Poland, together with a representative of the Catholic Church, had travelled to Taybeh, a largely Christian village near Ramallah. They wanted to see for themselves the situation facing Palestinian farmers, who have reported almost daily attacks by settlers while trying to bring in this year's olive harvest.
Video from the scene shows masked men confronting the convoy, and there are reports that stones were thrown. Belgian officials said a car belonging to their consulate had a window smashed. A French mayor taking part in the visit, Bernard Baudoux of Aulnoye-Aymeries, told the AFP news agency that the attackers kicked him and beat him with iron bars before throwing him to the ground. "It's the gratuitous nature of the violence that stuns me," he said, adding that the people who suffer most are the Palestinians who live there.
Belgian Foreign Minister Maxime Prévot condemned the attack on his country's consul general and the other envoys, and said Belgium would keep pushing for EU sanctions against those behind settler violence. France's Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot called on Israel to urgently halt what he called criminal violence, while Poland asked for a firm response. The EU said it expects full accountability and urged Israel to respect international law and stop expanding settlements.
In Israel, the military said it strongly condemned the severe act of violence and that no soldiers were present at the time. Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar also condemned what he called Israeli rioters, but noted that the visit had not been coordinated in advance with the army. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office was more cautious, saying images on social media did not show the full sequence of events and warning of what it described as a coordinated campaign to smear Israel. Police have opened an investigation.
The attack came a day after a Washington Post photographer, Heidi Levine, and several Palestinians were injured in a separate settler assault in another West Bank village, an incident that US Secretary of State Marco Rubio described as disturbing.