European diplomats attacked during West Bank olive harvest visit; French mayor hurt

European diplomats visiting Taybeh in the occupied West Bank were attacked on Saturday as Palestinian farmers were harvesting olives nearby, witnesses and officials said. French mayor Bernard Baudoux, who was with the visitors, was hurt, and a Belgian diplomatic vehicle was damaged. Israel’s military condemned what it called a “severe act of violence” against diplomatic representatives, while police opened an investigation. [2] [4] [6]

Cars from the French, Belgian and Polish missions had brought diplomats to the village, east of Ramallah. Witnesses told AFP that settlers came to stop Palestinians gathering olives and that masked men kicked Baudoux, the 78-year-old mayor of Aulnoye-Aymeries in northern France. AFP saw footage of him slumped against a car after the incident; two people who spoke to him said he did not need hospital treatment. [2]

Taybeh priest Bashar Fawadleh told EFE that Palestinian olive pickers were also attacked and a window in a Belgian consular vehicle was smashed. Israeli activist Amit Orfali, quoted by Haaretz in an ANP report, said seven masked men carrying clubs surrounded the visitors’ vehicles, struck them and threatened to kill the group. The precise sequence of the confrontations has not been established. [3] [1]

Belgian Foreign Minister Maxime Prévot said Belgium’s consul-general, French and Polish diplomats and Catholic representatives were among those targeted. The Belgian team was safe, he said, adding that his country would continue pressing for EU sanctions against those responsible for the violence and their supporters. [8]

The Israeli military said the visit had not been coordinated with it and that, according to a preliminary inquiry, no soldiers were at the scene during the attack. Police said they were seeking testimony and evidence to identify suspects. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office later urged caution about attributing individual responsibility, saying images of the incident did not show the full sequence of events. [5] [6] [7]