JERUSALEM (AP) — Masked Israeli assailants attacked a delegation of European diplomats and Catholic representatives in the West Bank village of Taybeh on Saturday, triggering a police investigation and sharp condemnations from Israeli officials as harvest-season violence escalates.
The assault occurred during the annual olive harvest, a period that routinely sees clashes between settlers, Palestinians, and international visitors. This year has already proven deadly. The Palestinian Health Ministry reports at least four people killed and more than 100 injured since the harvest began earlier this month, figures that remain unverified independently.
The delegation included Belgium’s consul general, French and Polish diplomats, and clergy members. They had traveled to Taybeh, an Arab Christian village, to sign a twinning agreement with the French town of Bernard Baudoux, a Communist Party mayor who said he was among those beaten.
“Three vehicles arrived. Several masked individuals, armed with metal bars, got out and came toward us with extreme aggressiveness,” Baudoux wrote on Facebook. He described being struck with bars, kicked, and thrown to the ground despite wearing his tricolor sash. His injuries were not serious.
Video captured by activist Amit Orfali shows Baudoux seated on the ground. Other footage depicts masked men approaching a vehicle, smashing its window, and demanding identification while others brandished sticks nearby. Orfali said the attackers issued death threats.
Israel’s military called the incident a “severe act of violence” and noted the visit lacked coordination with security forces. Police have opened an investigation. Foreign Minister Gideon Saar denounced the assault, while Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office urged caution, warning of a “coordinated campaign to discredit Israel” through premature conclusions.
Belgian Foreign Minister Maxime Prevot directly blamed Israel’s settlement policies and pushed for additional European Union sanctions.
The attack came one day after Washington Post photographer Heidi Levine sustained injuries in a separate incident. Levine, who has covered the region for over 40 years, described the violence as “Jewish terror” from her hospital bed.
The timing carries political weight. Israel’s election looms less than two weeks away, with Netanyahu facing security criticisms at home and international pressure abroad. Meanwhile, China’s foreign minister urged President Isaac Herzog this week to halt settlement expansion.
Tensions during the olive harvest have included burned vehicles, damaged trees, and physical assaults. Israel, which captured the West Bank in 1967, maintains security control over much of the territory while the Palestinian Authority governs parts of it. The international community largely considers settlements illegal, a position Israel rejects, citing historical and biblical ties as well as security needs.
Gadi Eisenkot, Netanyahu’s main electoral rival, condemned the perpetrators as a small criminal faction harming Israel’s global standing. The investigation’s outcome may shape both domestic political narratives and international scrutiny of settler violence.
