Israel’s Gideon Saar condemns attack on European delegation in West Bank
Diplomats visiting Taybeh during the olive harvest were confronted by masked settlers, according to witnesses and officials. Israeli police have opened an investigation.
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar condemned violence against a European diplomatic delegation visiting Taybeh in the occupied West Bank on Saturday, 17 October, after witnesses and diplomats reported an attack by masked settlers during the olive harvest. Israeli police said they had opened an investigation, while Saar also criticized the visitors for not coordinating their trip with the military.
What happened during the Taybeh visit
Cars from French, Belgian and Polish missions had brought diplomats to Taybeh, a largely Christian village, as Palestinians gathered olives, AFP reported. Witnesses said settlers descended on the area to stop the harvest. Belgian Foreign Minister Maxime Prevot said Belgium’s consul general, French and Polish diplomats and Catholic representatives were targeted. His team was safe, he said, although a Belgian vehicle was damaged.
Witness accounts cited by Deutsche Welle described masked men surrounding a diplomatic vehicle with off-road vehicles, demanding identification and smashing a window. AFP reported that witnesses and diplomats said visiting French mayor Bernard Baudoux, 78, was beaten. Footage described by AFP showed Baudoux, wearing his tricolour mayoral sash, slumped against a car. The accounts do not establish the attackers’ individual identities.
Israel’s response and police investigation
‘I strongly condemn the severe acts of violence by Israeli rioters in the area of Taybeh,’ Saar said, according to AFP. Israel’s military also called the incident a severe act of violence. It said the visit had not been coordinated with it and no soldiers were at the scene. Saar separately faulted the consulates for the lack of coordination.
Police said they were seeking victims’ accounts and trying to identify suspects. Their statement said investigators would collect testimony and work to bring those involved to justice. No suspect identification was reported in the police account of the newly opened case.
Pressure over violence during the olive harvest
The confrontation came amid violence during this year’s West Bank olive harvest. Deutsche Welle reported that settlers have used physical force to prevent Palestinians from collecting their crops. The visit brought European officials into the area as that pressure on harvesters continued, extending the incident’s diplomatic significance beyond the damaged vehicle and reported assault.
Prevot linked the attack to Israel’s settlement policy and said he would push for further European Union sanctions, the Associated Press reported. His proposal was a diplomatic response to the incident; the report did not describe a new EU sanctions decision.
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Sources and context
- Israel FM condemns 'rioters' attack on European diplomatsAFP, republished by RTÉ
- West Bank: Israeli settlers attack EU diplomatsDeutsche Welle
- Masked settlers attack European diplomats in the occupied West BankAssociated Press, republished by PBS NewsHour
AI-assisted article checked against the listed sources. NewsJaws did not conduct interviews or attend the reported events.