TAYBEH, West Bank — Israeli police launched an investigation after a delegation of European diplomats and local officials was assaulted Saturday while visiting the occupied West Bank, drawing swift condemnation across Europe and Washington.
The incident occurred near the village of Taybeh during the annual olive harvest season. Israeli public broadcaster Kan reported that the diplomatic delegation included representatives from France, Belgium and Poland, as well as Catholic officials. Online footage showed masked assailants confronting a diplomatic car, prompting Israeli police to open an inquiry to find the victims and bring suspects to justice, CBS News reported.
Envoys recount assault near Taybeh
Belgian Foreign Minister Maxime Prevot said on social media that Israeli settlers targeted Belgium’s consul general alongside French and Polish diplomats. A vehicle belonging to the Belgian mission was damaged, though the team escaped without critical physical harm, according to Prevot. He linked the incident to Israel’s settlement policies and said carrying out diplomatic work or picking olives should never expose anyone to physical assault.
Bernard Baudoux, the mayor of the northern French municipality of Aulnoye-Aymeries, told Agence France-Presse that assailants attacked him with iron bars, struck him with kicks and threw him to the pavement. Baudoux, who said his injuries were not severe, described the attackers as completely enraged. Poland’s Foreign Ministry confirmed on social media that its diplomats were present and unharmed, adding that preliminary findings indicated Israeli settlers may have carried out the attack.
Israel’s military described the confrontation as a severe act of violence perpetrated by Israeli rioters. However, defense officials stated that the diplomatic visit had not been coordinated in advance with the armed forces and noted that no troops were stationed nearby when the clash occurred.
Clashing reactions and U.S. condemnation
The office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu released a statement condemning violence against diplomats while cautioning against rushed conclusions. The prime minister’s office questioned whether online videos captured the full sequence of events, suggesting the allegations surfaced amid efforts to smear Israel and local Jewish residents during the harvest season. Netanyahu’s office also noted that Baudoux had previously raised a Palestinian flag over his municipal office before French authorities ordered it removed.
The confrontation in Taybeh followed an assault on Friday in the West Bank village of Abu Falah, where assailants severely beat Heidi Levine, an American freelance photojournalist working with The Washington Post. Levine sustained broken vertebrae, a fractured rib and hand injuries requiring surgery, her daughter told The Associated Press.
U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee sharply rebuked the attack against Levine, calling it on social media a “despicable act of terror carried out by masked cowards” and demanding the arrest and prosecution of those responsible. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters that Washington remains deeply disturbed by the footage and has urged Israeli officials to crack down on settler aggression.
Questions over enforcement remain
Settler attacks against Palestinians and visiting observers have escalated sharply in recent years, according to figures compiled by the United Nations. Rights groups have voiced persistent concern regarding low rates of accountability; the Israeli organization Yesh Din reported that 94 percent of official probes into settler misconduct since 2005 closed without indictments.
On Sunday, a European Union spokesperson demanded complete accountability for the violence against envoys and called on Israel to safeguard Palestinians and journalists. Israeli police said their inquiries remain active, though authorities have not yet announced any arrests or formal charges in connection with either weekend assault.
