EU and US Condemn Settler Attack on Diplomats and Journalist
The European Union has sharply condemned attacks by violent Israeli settlers in the West Bank on Palestinians and European diplomats. The EU notes the criticism from Israeli officials as positive, but expects full clarification and effective measures to prevent further violence, including protecting journalists.
Attack on the diplomatic convoy
On Saturday Israeli settlers attacked a convoy of European diplomats in the occupied territory by the Jordan. According to people in the convoy, a mayor from France was also beaten. The convoy, with vehicles of the French, Belgian and Polish missions, was heading to Taybeh, a mostly Christian village in the West Bank. Masked settlers, apparently seeking to stop Palestinians from harvesting olives, first insulted the diplomats and then attacked them.
The mayor, 78-year-old Bernard Baudoux of Aulnoye-Aymeries in northern France, told AFP he was thrown to the ground, beaten and struck with iron bars. As he was not seriously hurt, he continued the visit, which was meant to sign a cooperation agreement between Aulnoye-Aymeries and Taybeh. Baudoux saw the attack as a sign that Benjamin Netanyahu’s government tolerates settler violence. A Belgian vehicle was also damaged, Brussels said. Belgian Foreign Minister Maxime Prévot condemned the attack in the strongest terms: “The impunity of violent settlers must end.” French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot demanded that Israeli authorities arrest and punish those responsible; Israeli police said they had opened an investigation.
Attack on a US journalist
On Friday settlers attacked and seriously injured a US press representative. Photographer Heidi Levine, working for The Washington Post, wanted to document violence against Palestinian olive farmers. She wore a protective vest marked “PRESS” on the front and back, was pushed to the ground and repeatedly kicked, and her camera and phone were taken, the paper said. She suffered cuts all over her body, a broken rib and four broken vertebrae, and a finger was torn open to the bone. AFP photographer Jaafar Ashtiyeh had earlier been injured by settlers while covering the olive harvest.
US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee called it a “despicable terrorist act” by “cowardly masked men” and demanded that the settlers involved be jailed and punished. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said: “We are very concerned about these images,” adding that Washington has asked Israel to act against such incidents.
Israeli response
Netanyahu’s office questioned the reports about the convoy incident, speaking of a “smear campaign” against settlers and “sensational headlines before the full facts are known,” and said the Europeans should have coordinated the visit with the Israeli military. Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar also criticised the lack of coordination, but added: “I condemn in the strongest terms the serious violence by Israeli rioters in the Taybeh area.” Such critical remarks are rare from the right-wing government, which is under heavy pressure ahead of the parliamentary election in a few days. On the Levine case, a Netanyahu statement said the circumstances were unclear and under investigation, citing reports that about 200 Arabs and far-left activists had faced about 40 Israeli youths.
Background
Israel has occupied the West Bank since the Six-Day War in 1967. About three million Palestinians and more than 500,000 Israeli settlers live there; the settlements are illegal under international law. Under Netanyahu Israel has greatly expanded settlement building, and the situation in the West Bank has worsened markedly since Hamas’s attack on Israel on 7 October 2023.